JP2006310820A - Laser irradiation apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser irradiation apparatus capable of accurately controlling position of a beam spot of laser beams emitted from each of laser oscillators and the distance between the adjacent beam spots. <P>SOLUTION: The laser irradiation apparatus has a first movable stage on having an irradiation object placed thereon; at least two or more laser oscillators emitting laser beams; a plurality of second movable stages having the laser oscillators and optical systems provided thereon; and a means for detecting an irradiation position of each of laser beams. The first stage and the second stage may move not only in one direction but also in a plurality of directions. Further, the optical systems form the laser beams emitted from the laser oscillators into linear beams on the irradiation surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser irradiation apparatus that irradiates an irradiation object with a linear beam, and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the laser irradiation apparatus.

  In recent years, technology for manufacturing a thin film transistor (hereinafter also referred to as TFT) on a substrate has greatly advanced, and application development to an active matrix display device has been advanced. Some of these technologies utilize lasers for TFT fabrication. For example, a laser annealing technique, a laser doping technique, a laser scribing technique, and the like can be given.

  A TFT using a polycrystalline semiconductor film has higher field-effect mobility (also referred to as mobility) than a TFT using a conventional amorphous semiconductor film, and thus can operate at high speed. For this reason, for example, in an active matrix display device using TFTs, the control of the pixel TFT, which has been performed by the drive circuit unit provided outside the conventional substrate, is performed by the drive circuit TFT formed on the same substrate as the pixel TFT. It has been tried.

  By the way, as a substrate used for a semiconductor device, a glass substrate is considered promising rather than a quartz substrate in terms of cost. In addition, since a glass substrate can be easily increased in size as compared with a quartz substrate, a large number of semiconductor devices can be manufactured over a large-area glass substrate, and the number of devices obtained from one glass substrate can be increased. As a result, the unit price of the semiconductor device can be lowered, which is convenient for mass production.

  However, since the glass substrate is inferior in heat resistance and easily deformed by heat, when a conventional annealing method using radiant heating or conductive heating is used, the semiconductor film formed on the glass substrate is crystallized. The glass substrate is deformed by heat, or the time required for crystallization becomes unrealistic. On the other hand, when a laser annealing method is applied to this step, the laser beam can locally heat a semiconductor film formed on the glass substrate, so that thermal deformation of the glass substrate can be suppressed. The laser annealing method can significantly reduce the processing time as compared with the annealing method using radiant heating or conduction heating, and the substrate or the semiconductor film can be selectively and locally heated so that the substrate is almost thermally treated. It has the advantage of not damaging it.

  The laser annealing here means a technique for heating a damaged layer or an amorphous layer formed on a semiconductor substrate or semiconductor film, a technique for crystallizing an amorphous semiconductor film formed on a substrate, a semiconductor substrate or This includes techniques applied to planarization and surface modification of semiconductor films.

Laser oscillators used for laser annealing are roughly classified into two types, pulse oscillation and continuous oscillation (hereinafter abbreviated as CW), depending on the oscillation method. In recent years, in the crystallization of a semiconductor film, it is more preferable to use a CW laser oscillator such as an Ar laser or a YVO ₄ laser than a pulsed laser oscillator such as an excimer laser. Has been found to be large. As the crystal grain size in the semiconductor film increases, the number of grain boundaries that enter the channel region of a TFT formed using the semiconductor film decreases, so that the mobility increases. Therefore, it is possible to develop a higher performance device by using a CW laser oscillator. In the present specification, a region where such large crystal grains are gathered is referred to as a large grain crystal region.

  In order to increase the absorption efficiency of a laser beam (also referred to as laser light) into a semiconductor film, a laser beam having a wavelength in the visible or ultraviolet region is used for laser annealing of the semiconductor film. However, the wavelength oscillated from a solid laser medium generally used in a CW laser is from red to the near infrared region where the absorption efficiency into the semiconductor film is low. Therefore, when a CW solid-state laser is applied to the laser annealing process, it is converted into a harmonic having a wavelength below the visible range using a nonlinear optical element. In general, a method of converting a near-infrared fundamental wave that can easily obtain a large output into a green laser beam that is a second harmonic has the highest conversion efficiency and is frequently used.

  For example, when a CW laser beam having an output of 10 W and a wavelength of 532 nm is shaped into a linear beam having a long side of about 300 μm and a short side of about 10 μm, and the semiconductor film is crystallized by scanning the linear beam in the short side direction, The width of the large grain crystal region obtained by one scan is about 200 μm. Therefore, in order to crystallize all the semiconductor film formed on the entire surface of a relatively large substrate by the CW laser beam, the width of the large grain crystal region obtained by one scanning of the linear beam is It is necessary to perform laser annealing by shifting the scanning position of the linear beam in the long side direction.

  On the other hand, at the same time as the formation of the large grain crystal region, the crystal region that is not the large grain crystal region (hereinafter referred to as the poor crystallinity region) is obtained when the energy at both ends in the long side direction of the linear beam is attenuated. it can. Unevenness is conspicuous on the surface of the poor crystallinity region, which is not suitable for manufacturing a TFT. When a TFT is formed on a crystalline defect region, it causes variations in electrical characteristics and malfunctions.

  For this reason, in order to manufacture a highly reliable device, it is necessary to accurately determine the irradiation position of the laser beam so that the TFT is not formed in the poorly crystalline region.

As a laser irradiation method used for laser annealing, a sample is set on an XY stage, and a beam spot formed on the sample is scanned relative to the sample by using a predetermined optical system. And a method of performing laser annealing. At this time, in order to accurately determine the position irradiated with the laser beam, a reference marker is provided on the irradiated surface, the image of the marker is stored in a CCD camera, and the marker is processed by image processing means such as pattern matching. A method is used in which the position of irradiation is detected and the irradiation position is controlled by moving the surface to be irradiated in accordance with the position of the marker (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-103628 A

  When the method shown in Patent Document 1 is adopted, there is a problem that productivity is deteriorated. For example, if the entire surface of a semiconductor film formed on a 1000 mm square glass substrate is annealed with one linear beam having a long side length of 300 μm, it is necessary to repeat scanning more than 3000 times. It takes time.

  Therefore, in order to improve productivity, the linear beams 500a, 500b, and 500c emitted from the three laser oscillators 504, 505, and 506 are arranged on the irradiation surface and simultaneously irradiated to scan the irradiated object 501. A method is conceivable (see FIG. 5).

  In this case, the laser light emitted from the three laser oscillators can be irradiated to three locations on the surface to be irradiated, so the entire surface can be scanned with 1/3 the number of scans when one laser oscillator is used. The processing speed can be improved as the number of laser oscillators increases. However, when this method is adopted, there is a problem in terms of yield. This problem will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing the upper surface of the irradiated object 501 of FIG. Here, three laser oscillators are used, and as shown in FIG. 6, the first laser oscillator starts scanning from the position A1, and the second laser oscillator starts scanning from the position A2. The second laser oscillator is configured to start scanning from the position A3. In this case, first, the laser light emitted from each of the three laser oscillators is shaped into a linear laser by adjusting the optical system. However, if the optical system is adjusted to shape the laser beam emitted from each laser oscillator into a linear shape, the mutual positions of the linear beams deviate from the desired positions A1, A2, A3. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the starting point to A1, A2, and A3 by adjusting the optical system while keeping the laser shape linear. After adjusting the optical system and adjusting the irradiation start position of the linear beam to A1 to A3, respectively, the irradiated object 501 is moved in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction to irradiate the substrate with the linear beam. .

  However, it is very difficult to perform optical adjustment to match the irradiation position of each linear beam to a predetermined position while maintaining the shape of each linear beam. Therefore, in actuality, exact alignment of each linear beam is not performed, and the position of each linear beam 500a, 500b, 500c on the surface of the irradiated object 501 from a position shifted from the predetermined irradiation start positions A1, A2, A3. Irradiation is started (see FIG. 6). And each linear beam is irradiated to the direction of the broken-line arrow of FIG. However, in this case, when irradiation is completed, a region 502 where the linear beam is not irradiated and a region 503 where the linear beam overlaps are formed as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the laser irradiation apparatus shown in FIG. 5 is used, it is difficult to perform laser irradiation uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate. In a large substrate, scanning of the linear beam in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is performed several hundred times. Therefore, if the irradiation start position of each linear beam is shifted by several μm from a desired position, the region 502 where the laser is not irradiated In addition, the width of the region 503 where the laser beams are overlapped and irradiated is about several tens of μm. When a TFT is manufactured at a position including the region 502 or 503 on the semiconductor film crystallized by such laser irradiation, the TFT characteristics are extremely deteriorated and the variation in characteristics between TFTs is increased.

  Therefore, when irradiating an object to be irradiated with a plurality of laser beams at the same time, the positions of the beam spots formed by the laser beams emitted from the respective laser oscillators and the distance between the beam spots are controlled. It must be done reliably and easily. Otherwise, the TFT is manufactured in a region that is not a crystal region, which may adversely affect the yield.

  Therefore, the present invention irradiates a predetermined position of an irradiated body with a plurality of laser beams, performs uniform laser irradiation on the irradiated body, and a laser irradiation apparatus with high productivity and a semiconductor using the laser irradiation apparatus It is an object to provide a method for manufacturing a device.

  In view of the above problems, the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention includes a mechanism for moving at least two laser oscillators independently of each other in order to move laser beams emitted from a plurality of laser oscillators to irradiation positions, respectively. It is characterized by.

  The laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of laser oscillators for emitting laser light, a plurality of optical systems for forming the laser light into a linear beam on the surface of the irradiated body, and the irradiated body for the linear beam. Means for moving in the direction along the short side of the laser beam, means for moving the laser oscillators independently in the direction along the long side of the linear beam, and means for detecting the alignment marker position It is characterized by that.

  A laser irradiation apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of laser oscillators that emit laser light, a plurality of optical systems that form the laser light into a linear beam on the surface of an irradiated object, an alignment marker detection unit, and an image processing apparatus. Having a means for determining a laser irradiation position, movable in the short side direction of the linear beam, provided with the irradiated body, and in the long side direction of the linear beam A plurality of movable second stages, and the laser oscillator and the optical system are installed one by one on each of the plurality of second stages, and the plurality of second stages are: It is characterized by having an independent moving mechanism.

  In the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention, the alignment marker detection means is a CCD camera.

  The laser irradiation apparatus characterized in that the shape of the linear beam is rectangular or elliptical.

In the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention, a YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a GdVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, or an Ar laser is used as the laser oscillator.

  In the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention, the plurality of laser oscillators have different outputs.

  According to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention, an insulating substrate having an amorphous semiconductor film is provided on a first stage, and a plurality of second stages are moved independently from each other in a predetermined direction. And irradiating the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film with a plurality of linear beams emitted from a plurality of laser oscillators installed on the second stage, and applying a plurality of the linear beams to the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film. The amorphous semiconductor film is crystallized by moving the first stage in a direction along the short side of the linear beam while irradiating the spot. The predetermined direction is a direction along the long side of the linear beam.

  In the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention, an insulating substrate having an amorphous semiconductor film is placed on a first stage, a plurality of alignment markers are formed on the amorphous semiconductor film, and a plurality of second stages are formed. Irradiating the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film with a plurality of linear beams emitted from a plurality of laser oscillators installed thereon, and a direction along the long side of the linear beam based on the position of the alignment marker In addition, the plurality of second stages are moved independently of each other to adjust the irradiation positions of the plurality of linear beams, and the plurality of linear beams are irradiated to a plurality of locations on the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film. The amorphous semiconductor film is crystallized by moving the first stage in the direction along the short side of the linear beam while irradiating the linear beam.

  Each of the plurality of second stages is provided with one laser oscillator.

  The outputs of the plurality of laser oscillators are different from each other.

  In this specification, a laser beam having a linear shape on an irradiated surface is referred to as a linear beam. The term “linear” as used herein does not mean “line” in a strict sense, but means a rectangle having a large aspect ratio (for example, an aspect ratio of 10 or more (preferably 100 or more)). Note that the linear beam is used to increase the efficiency of laser annealing, and the shape may be rectangular or elliptical.

  According to the present invention, in an apparatus for simultaneously irradiating an object to be irradiated with a plurality of laser beams emitted from a plurality of laser oscillators, it is extremely easy to adjust the irradiation position of each laser beam, and the position adjustment is reliably performed. be able to. Therefore, the time required for maintenance can be remarkably shortened, and as a result, productivity can be improved. Further, since the irradiation position is adjusted by moving the laser oscillator, it is possible to finely adjust the laser irradiation position, and it is possible to prevent generation of a region where the laser is not irradiated or a region where the laser is overlapped. Thus, by using the laser irradiation apparatus described in the embodiment of this specification, for example, when crystallization of a semiconductor film is performed, productivity and yield can be improved.

(Embodiment 1)
In this embodiment, a configuration of a laser irradiation apparatus including a moving mechanism that can independently adjust irradiation positions of a plurality of linear beams formed on an irradiation surface will be described. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different modes, and it is easy for those skilled in the art to change the modes and details in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Understood. Therefore, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the description of this embodiment mode. Note that this embodiment can be freely combined with any of the other embodiments.

  First, an optical system for forming a linear beam will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a first optical system having a slit 121, a mirror 131, and cylindrical lenses 141 and 151, a second optical system having a slit 122, a mirror 132, and cylindrical lenses 142 and 152, a slit 123, and a mirror 133, a third optical system having cylindrical lenses 143 and 153, and a fourth optical system having a slit 124, a mirror 134, and cylindrical lenses 144 and 154 are arranged on the emission side of the laser oscillators 111, 112, 113, and 114. Each is installed.

The laser oscillators 111, 112, 113, and 114 emit laser beams having a high repetition frequency of CW or 10 MHz or higher. The laser oscillator used in this embodiment is not particularly limited, and either pulsed oscillation or continuous oscillation laser oscillator can be used. Examples thereof include an excimer laser, a YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a GdVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, and an Ar laser. Further, other types of laser oscillators may be used. In this embodiment, four laser oscillators are used. However, the number of laser oscillators is not limited to this, and may be two or more, and may be determined as appropriate depending on the size of the substrate to be used, the size of the laser oscillator, and the like. It ’s fine.

  The laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 111 is blocked by the slit 121 at a portion where the intensity of the laser beam is weak, and is deflected toward the irradiated object 101 by the mirror 131. The slits 121 are arranged in order to minimize the portions with low laser light intensity formed at both ends of the linear beam irradiated on the irradiated surface.

  The laser beam deflected by the mirror 131 passes through the cylindrical lens 141 acting only in one direction. Further, the laser beam that has passed through the cylindrical lens 141 is condensed by the cylindrical lens 151 that acts only in one direction rotated 90 degrees with the cylindrical lens 141, and the irradiation target 101 is irradiated with the linear beam 161. Similarly, laser beams emitted from the laser oscillators 112, 113, and 114 are also shaped by slits, mirrors, and cylindrical lenses, and the irradiated beams are irradiated with linear beams 162, 163, and 164, respectively. The cylindrical lenses 141, 142, 143, 144 act only in the long side direction of the linear beam formed on the irradiated surface, and the cylindrical lenses 151, 152, 153, 154 act only in the short side direction. .

  Here, the positional relationship between the cylindrical lenses 141, 142, 143, 144, the slits 121, 122, 123, 124 and the irradiation surface of the irradiated object 101 will be described in detail. Since the optical systems used for each of the four laser oscillators are the same, the optical system corresponding to the laser oscillator 111 will be described here as a representative. First, the focal length of the cylindrical lens 141 is f, and the width of the slit 121 is s. At this time, the optical path length from the slit 121 to the cylindrical lens 141 is M1, and the optical path length from the cylindrical lens 141 to the irradiated object 101 is M2. Further, L is the length in the long side direction of the linear beam formed on the irradiated surface of the irradiated object 101. At this time, the following two expressions hold.

  From the above formulas 1 and 2, the following formula is derived.

  By arranging the slit, the cylindrical lens, and the irradiated object at a position that satisfies these relationships, a linear beam that is not affected by diffraction by the slit can be projected onto the irradiation surface. The slit is used to reduce the area of the poor crystallinity region as much as possible, but has a drawback of generating a periodic energy distribution due to the influence of diffraction. In general, when a laser beam is partially shielded by a slit, a light diffraction phenomenon occurs. As a result, a periodic energy distribution is generated on the irradiated surface in the laser beam that has passed through the slit. However, no periodic energy distribution due to diffraction occurs at a position immediately after the laser beam is cut by the slit. Therefore, by arranging the optical system at a position satisfying the above formula, a linear beam that is not affected by diffraction by the slit can be obtained. Accordingly, it is possible to irradiate the irradiated surface with a linear beam having a substantially uniform energy distribution.

  Of course, the optical system for forming the linear beam is not limited to the optical system of the present embodiment. For example, a configuration in which no slit is provided may be used, a fly-eye lens, a cylindrical lens array, a diffractive optical element, or the like may be used in place of the cylindrical lens, or an appropriate combination thereof may be used. In the present embodiment, the optical system having the same configuration is arranged for each of the four laser oscillators. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this configuration. For example, you may arrange | position the optical system of a different structure to each laser oscillator. By arranging different optical systems for each laser oscillator, it is possible to change the characteristics such as the energy distribution and energy density of the linear beam irradiated on the irradiation surface. By changing the characteristics such as the energy distribution and energy density of the linear beam, the crystallinity of the crystal regions crystallized by the respective linear beams can be made different, so devices with different characteristics on one substrate When manufacturing the device, the characteristics of each device can be controlled.

  In addition, when a single device is manufactured over a crystal region formed by linear beams having different characteristics, the energy distribution of a plurality of linear beams and the use of polarizing plates, filters, or other energy adjusting means are used. By adjusting the characteristics such as energy density so as to be uniform, variations in the characteristics of the device can be minimized. Although not shown here, an optical system having a laser oscillator, a slit, a mirror, and a cylindrical lens is installed on a movable Y-axis stage. Reference numerals 171, 172, 173, and 174 denote means for detecting alignment markers. Here, a CCD camera is used as the alignment marker detection means.

  Next, the configuration of the X-axis stage 102 and the plurality of Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 is a diagram in which Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 are added to FIG. 1, and the same components as those in FIG. Here, the X-axis direction is the short side direction of the linear beam, and the Y-axis direction is the long side direction of the linear beam. In this specification, the direction toward the positive direction of the coordinates on the Y axis is the Y axis direction, the direction toward the negative direction is the −Y axis direction, and the direction toward the positive direction of the coordinates on the X axis is X. The direction toward the axial direction and the negative direction is described as the −X-axis direction.

  In this embodiment, an X-axis stage 102 that can freely move in the X-axis direction is provided on a table 211, and Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, 204 that can move in the Y-axis direction above the X-axis stage 102. It was set as the structure which provides. In other words, the X-axis stage 102 is installed in contact with the table 211, and is supported by the support 241 extending on the X-axis stage 102 from the supports 231 and 232 disposed on both sides of the X-axis stage 102. Y-axis stages 201 and 202 are arranged above the stage 102. Similarly, the Y-axis stages 203 and 204 are supported by support bodies 242 extending on the X-axis stage 102 from the support bodies 233 and 234 disposed on both sides of the X-axis stage 102, and above the X-axis stage 102. Is arranged. In the present embodiment, the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 are provided with a moving mechanism that can move independently along the support 241 or 242 by an arbitrary distance without being interlocked. Yes. Note that the configurations of the Y-axis stage and the support shown in this embodiment are merely examples, and other configurations may be used as long as the laser oscillator can be moved independently. In this embodiment, the same number of Y-axis stages as the number of laser oscillators are provided.

  On the Y-axis stage 201, a first optical system for shaping the linear beam shown in FIG. 1, a laser oscillator 111, and a CCD camera 171 are arranged. Similarly, the Y-axis stage 202 is provided with a second optical system for shaping the linear beam shown in FIG. 1, a laser oscillator 112, and a CCD camera 172. The Y-axis stage 203 is shown in FIG. A third optical system for shaping the linear beam shown, a laser oscillator 113, and a CCD camera 173 not shown in FIG. 2 are installed, and the Y-axis stage 204 shapes the linear beam shown in FIG. A fourth optical system, a laser oscillator 114, and a CCD camera 174 not shown in FIG. 2 are installed. Here, the first optical system and the laser oscillator 111 are collectively 221; the second optical system and the laser oscillator 112 are collectively 222; the third optical system and the laser oscillator 113 are collectively 223; These optical systems and the laser oscillator 114 are collectively shown as 224.

  By moving the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 in the Y-axis direction, the linear beams 161, 162, 163, and 164 formed on the irradiation surface also move in the Y-axis direction. Here, each of the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 is provided with one laser oscillator and one optical system. That is, only one laser oscillator is provided on one Y-axis stage. If a plurality of laser oscillators are installed on one Y-axis stage, accurate alignment is difficult because the interval between linear beams emitted from adjacent laser oscillators must be adjusted using an optical system. become.

  In this embodiment, the irradiation positions of the linear beams 161, 162, 163, and 164 linearly shaped by the respective optical systems are, for example, preset laser beam irradiation start positions 1401 as shown in FIG. , 1402, 1403, and 1404 are irradiated to positions shifted by distances d1, d2, d3, and d4, respectively. This is because if the optical system is finely adjusted to form a linear beam, the mutual positions of the linear beams are shifted from the desired positions. The distances d1, d2, d3, and d4 do not need to be different from each other.

  Therefore, based on the position information of each alignment marker obtained by detecting each alignment marker with a CCD camera, the four Y-axis stages are moved to accurately move each linear beam to the irradiation position. That is, the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 are moved by d1, d2, d3, and d4 in the Y-axis direction or the −Y-axis direction, respectively, and the linear beams 161, 162, 163, and 164 are irradiated with laser light. The start positions 1401, 1402, 1403, and 1404 are set.

  Here, means for reading the alignment marker will be described with reference to FIGS. The CCD cameras 171, 172, 173, and 174 installed on the four Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 are moved to photograph the surface of the irradiated object 101 with the CCD cameras, and the alignment markers 181, 182, and 183 are photographed. , 184 is recognized. Here, the position of the alignment marker is recognized by performing image processing such as pattern matching with an image processing apparatus connected to the CCD camera. Thereafter, based on the position information of the alignment marker obtained by the pattern matching process, the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 are moved to adjust the respective linear beams to a predetermined irradiation start position. Here, the position of the alignment marker 181 is detected by the CCD camera 171, the position of the alignment marker 182 is detected by the CCD camera 172, the position of the alignment marker 183 is detected by the CCD camera 173, and the alignment marker 184 is detected by the CCD camera 174. The position is detected. That is, each CCD camera detects only the position information of the alignment marker corresponding to the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator installed on the same Y-axis stage.

  In the present embodiment, only the contour portion is extracted by Sobel processing or the like on the image in which the reflected light from the surface of the irradiated object is recorded using a CCD camera. Then, a pattern matching process for comparing the image from which the contour portion is extracted and the image of the alignment marker registered in the image processing apparatus in advance is performed to detect the position of the alignment marker. By performing the pattern matching process on the image obtained by extracting only the contour portion, the pattern matching process can be performed stably without being influenced by the change in the reflectance on the surface of the irradiated object. Note that the method of recognizing the position of the alignment marker is not limited to this method. For example, an alignment marker pattern obtained from CAD data may be registered in the image processing apparatus. The information registered here is not a value obtained by converting the contrast difference between pixels of the CCD camera into a numerical value with multiple gradations but a binary value. At this time, the information registered in the image processing apparatus is only the shape of the alignment marker, that is, the contour portion of the image. In this case as well, pattern matching processing is performed on a pattern in which only the contour portion is extracted by performing Sobel processing or the like on the image recorded using the CCD camera and a pattern obtained from CAD data registered in the image processing apparatus in advance.

  When recording an alignment marker formed on an object to be irradiated using a CCD camera, if a white light source having a wavelength over the entire visible range is used, even if an absorption band of a specific wavelength exists on the object to be irradiated, reflected light It is difficult to obtain a good contrast because a large difference cannot be obtained in the total amount. Therefore, the light source used here is more preferably a monochromatic light source corresponding to the absorption wavelength region existing in the irradiated object. When the object to be irradiated is a semiconductor film, it is preferable to use a light source having a short wavelength below the visible wavelength range, which is the absorption wavelength range of the semiconductor film, as the light source for determining the irradiation position of the laser beam on the semiconductor film. For example, since amorphous silicon has good absorption at a wavelength of 500 nm or less, it is preferable to use a light source having a wavelength of 500 nm or less. Further, when an amorphous silicon is used for the semiconductor film and a silicon oxide film is used for the base film, the silicon oxide film has no absorption near the wavelength of 500 nm, and absorption appears near the wavelength of 200 nm. It is preferable to use a light source.

Even when the contrast of the alignment marker is low due to the complexity of the film structure, the reflected light of such a monochromatic light source is recorded and image processing is performed. Only the part can be recognized. Therefore, it is possible to recognize the position of the alignment marker regardless of the contrast. Furthermore, even when there is a film thickness distribution in the substrate surface and the contrasts of the alignment markers at a plurality of locations in the surface are different from each other, the alignment markers can be recognized. For example, an amorphous silicon film that is a peeling layer, a silicon oxide film that protects the semiconductor film from the peeling process, and a multilayer structure in which a semiconductor film (polycrystalline silicon film) on which an alignment marker is formed is sequentially laminated Even when the laser beam is irradiated onto the film, the beam spot can be aligned at a predetermined position.

  When the laser irradiation apparatus of this embodiment is used, the laser oscillator can be moved by an arbitrary distance along the supports 241 and 242 to adjust the irradiation position of the laser beam, so that the linear beams 161 and 162 can be adjusted. 163, 164 can be easily adjusted to the respective irradiation start positions. Here, the stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 provided on the table 211 are movable only in the Y-axis direction. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the laser irradiation position is set in advance. Anything that matches the position is acceptable. That is, it may be movable in the X-axis direction in addition to movement in the Y-axis direction, or may be movable in the Z-axis direction in addition to movement in the Y-axis direction. Alternatively, it may be capable of rotating in addition to movement in the Y-axis direction, or may be capable of moving in a direction in which these are appropriately combined.

  Next, the X-axis stage 102 that can move at a speed of about 100 to 1000 mm / sec is scanned and moved at an appropriate speed in the X-axis direction, so that the irradiation target 101 can be irradiated with a linear beam. In the present embodiment, the stage 102 provided with the irradiation object is movable only in the X-axis direction, but of course, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the irradiation position of the laser beam is set in advance. Anything that suits you. That is, in addition to the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction movement, the Z-axis direction movement, or the rotational movement may be possible, or the movement may be performed in an appropriate combination thereof.

  After moving the X-axis stage 102 in the X-axis direction, the four Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, 204 are moved by the same distance as the width of each crystal region crystallized by the linear beams 161, 162, 163, 164. Each moves in the Y-axis direction. After the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 are moved, the X-axis stage 102 is moved in the opposite direction, that is, in the −X-axis direction. In this embodiment, after moving in the X-axis direction, each laser oscillator is moved in the Y-axis direction by a distance independent from each other, so there is almost no gap between adjacent linear beams emitted from the same laser oscillator, The substrate surface can be irradiated uniformly. By repeating this operation, the entire surface of the substrate can be irradiated with a linear beam. At this time, it is possible to reduce the apparatus area by using stages that move independently on the same axis as the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204. As a stage that enables such a thing, there is a stage driven by a linear motor.

  By using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present embodiment, when the irradiation position of the linear beam is adjusted to a predetermined position, adjustment of the irradiation position of each linear beam can be performed only by moving the laser oscillator. it can. The laser oscillator and the optical system can be moved together simply by moving the Y-axis stage. Therefore, it is not necessary to make difficult adjustment of the optical system, and the adjustment of the irradiation position of the linear beam becomes extremely easy. Therefore, the time required for maintenance can be remarkably shortened, leading to an improvement in productivity. Moreover, since the irradiation position is adjusted by moving the laser oscillator, the laser irradiation position can be finely adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the generation of a region where the laser is not irradiated or a region where the laser is overlapped and irradiated. By using the laser irradiation apparatus of this embodiment mode, for example, for crystallizing a semiconductor film in manufacturing a TFT, the productivity and yield of the TFT can be improved.

(Embodiment 2)
In the present embodiment, the configuration of a laser irradiation apparatus that determines the irradiation position of a linear beam with one CCD camera instead of the four CCD cameras of the first embodiment will be described. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different modes, and it is easy for those skilled in the art to change the modes and details in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Understood. Therefore, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the description of this embodiment mode. Note that this embodiment can be freely combined with any of the other embodiments.

  The structure of the laser irradiation apparatus of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. In the present embodiment, one CCD camera is moved to align each of the four linear beams. That is, the laser irradiation apparatus shown in this embodiment moves the CCD camera 371 and the CCD camera 371 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 instead of the CCD cameras 171 to 174 shown in FIGS. The Y-axis stage 405 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  Here, by moving a CCD camera 371 installed on a Y-axis stage 405 different from the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 on which four laser oscillators are installed, four corners on the irradiated object are obtained. The position of the alignment marker 382 that serves as a reference for the irradiation position of each linear beam formed in (1) is detected. The alignment marker 382 serves as a reference for the irradiation position of each linear beam.

  By using the laser irradiation apparatus of this embodiment, it is not necessary to make difficult adjustment of the optical system for adjusting the irradiation position of each of the plurality of linear beams, and the adjustment of the irradiation position of the linear beam is extremely difficult. It becomes easy. Therefore, the time required for maintenance can be remarkably shortened, leading to an improvement in productivity. Further, the laser irradiation position can be finely adjusted, and generation of a region where the laser is not irradiated or a region where the laser is overlapped and irradiated can be prevented. By using the laser irradiation apparatus of this embodiment mode, for example, for crystallizing a semiconductor film in manufacturing a TFT, the productivity and yield of the TFT can be improved.

(Embodiment 3)
In this embodiment, a process for manufacturing a thin film transistor (TFT) using the laser irradiation apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. Note that although a manufacturing method of a top gate type (forward stagger type) TFT is described in this embodiment mode, the present invention is similarly applied to a bottom gate type (reverse stagger type) TFT or the like as well as the top gate type TFT. Can be used. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different modes, and it is easy for those skilled in the art to change the modes and details in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Understood. Therefore, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the description of this embodiment mode. Further, this embodiment can be freely combined with any of the other embodiments.

  FIG. 9 shows the X-axis stage 102 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The X-axis stage 102 has a suction function and can move along the X-axis direction. First, as shown in FIG. 9, an insulating substrate 700 having an insulating surface, a base film 701, and an amorphous semiconductor film 702 are sequentially formed on an X-axis stage 102 having an adsorption function. As the insulating substrate 700, for example, a glass substrate such as barium borosilicate glass or alumino borosilicate glass, a quartz substrate, a stainless steel substrate, or the like can be used. In addition, plastics typified by PET, PES, and PEN, and substrates made of a synthetic resin having flexibility such as acrylic generally tend to have a lower heat resistant temperature than other substrates. Any material can be used as long as it can withstand the processing temperature.

  The base film 701 is provided to prevent an alkali metal such as Na or an alkaline earth metal contained in the insulating substrate 700 from diffusing into the semiconductor film and adversely affecting the characteristics of the semiconductor element. Therefore, an insulating film such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxide containing nitrogen, or silicon nitride containing oxygen that can suppress diffusion of alkali metal or alkaline earth metal into the semiconductor film is used. For example, a silicon nitride oxide film is formed to a thickness of 10 to 400 nm by plasma CVD. When using a substrate containing alkali metal or alkaline earth metal, such as a glass substrate or plastic substrate, it is effective to provide a base film from the viewpoint of preventing the diffusion of impurities. If the diffusion of impurities is not a problem, it is not always necessary.

  An amorphous semiconductor film 702 having a thickness of about 25 to 100 nm (preferably 30 to 60 nm) is formed over the base film 701. As the amorphous semiconductor film, silicon containing silicon or germanium can be used. When silicon containing germanium is used, the concentration of germanium is preferably about 0.01 to 4.5 atomic%. Subsequently, the amorphous semiconductor film 702 is crystallized using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the top surface of the amorphous semiconductor film 702. FIG. Here, the alignment markers 601a, 601b, 601c, and 601d are previously formed on the amorphous semiconductor film 702 formed over the base insulating film by etching the amorphous semiconductor film 702 using a photolithography method. Is formed. The etched portion of the amorphous semiconductor film 702 is used as an alignment marker. A plurality of alignment markers 601a, 601b, 601c, and 601d are formed on the semiconductor film, and the alignment marker 601a is used for adjusting the irradiation position of the linear beam 161. Similarly, the alignment markers 601b, 601c, and 601d correspond to the linear beams 162, 163, and 164, respectively. In this embodiment, an alignment marker is provided to determine the laser irradiation position, but this is not always necessary. In this embodiment, the alignment marker is formed in the semiconductor film, but may be formed in the glass substrate. In addition, when forming an alignment marker in a glass substrate, the laser beam which concentrated the energy locally inside the glass substrate is irradiated to a glass substrate. And the part which the state inside the glass substrate changed partially by irradiating is used as an alignment marker.

  In this embodiment, the four laser oscillators described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the four optical systems for shaping the linear beam, the four CCD cameras, the X-axis stage, and the four Y-axis stages are provided. The laser irradiation apparatus which has is used. First, laser light emitted from the laser oscillators 111, 112, 113, and 114 is irradiated on the irradiated object using the first optical system, the second optical system, the third optical system, and the fourth optical system. Linear beams 161, 162, 163, and 164 are formed (see FIG. 1). In this embodiment mode, the irradiation object is an amorphous semiconductor film 702.

  Next, the pattern of each of the alignment markers 601a, 601b, 601c, and 601d (see FIG. 10) formed on the amorphous semiconductor film 702 is image processing apparatus (not shown) by a CCD camera installed on each Y-axis stage. ). Then, pattern matching processing is performed between the pattern captured in the image processing apparatus by the CCD camera and the pattern registered in advance in the image processing apparatus, and position information of each alignment marker is obtained. Then, the X-axis stage 102 and the Y-axis stages 201, 202, 203, and 204 are moved based on the obtained positional information of the alignment markers, and the linear beams 161, 162, 163, and 164 are irradiated on the semiconductor film 702. Adjust to each position.

As the laser oscillator, for example, four second-harmonic, continuous-wave Nd: YVO ₄ lasers with an output of 10 W can be used. Of course, the number of laser oscillators is not limited to this, and may be any number as long as it is two or more. The outputs of the laser oscillators may be different from each other. By using laser oscillators with different outputs, it is possible to form semiconductor films having different crystallinity by one scan.

  After the alignment of the linear beams, the X-axis stage is moved so that each linear beam is simultaneously scanned in the direction indicated by the dashed arrows 602a, 602b, 602c, and 602d shown in FIG. 10, and the crystal regions 605a, 605b, 605c and 605d are formed. At this time, it is preferable that the X-axis direction is parallel to the short-side direction of each linear beam in terms of productivity.

  After the X-axis stage is scanned in the X-axis direction to form crystal regions 605a, 605b, 605c, and 605d, the Y-axis stage is moved to move each linear beam in the direction indicated by arrows 603a, 603b, 603c, and 603d. . At this time, each Y-axis stage is moved by the same distance as the width of the crystal regions 605a, 605b, 605c, and 605d so that there is almost no gap between 605a and 606a. Thereafter, the X-axis stage again scans the linear beam simultaneously in the directions indicated by the dashed arrows 604a, 604b, 604c, and 604d to form crystal regions 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606d. In this embodiment, after moving in the X-axis direction, each laser oscillator is moved in the Y-axis direction by a distance independent of each other, so that the gap between the crystal region 605a and the crystal region 606a can be almost eliminated. . Similarly, there are almost no gaps between the crystal regions 605b, 605c, and 605d and the crystal regions 606b, 606c, and 606d, and uniform irradiation can be performed on the substrate. By repeating these operations, the amorphous semiconductor film formed over the entire surface of the substrate can be crystallized uniformly and efficiently by laser annealing. At this time, the apparatus area can be reduced by using stages that move independently from each other as the Y-axis stage. As a stage that enables such a thing, there is a stage driven by a linear motor. Here, the X-axis direction is a direction along the short side of the linear beam, and the Y-axis direction is a direction along the long side of the linear beam.

  Next, a manufacturing process of the TFT will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along a broken line connecting M and N in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11A, a base film 701 and an amorphous semiconductor film 702 are sequentially stacked over an insulating substrate 700. The linear beam scans on the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film 702 in the direction of the arrow illustrated in FIG. Crystal grains continuously grown in the scanning direction are formed by the irradiation of the linear beam. As described above, by forming crystal grains extending in the scanning direction, it is possible to form TFTs having almost no crystal grain boundaries in the channel carrier movement direction from the crystalline semiconductor film 606a.

  After that, as illustrated in FIG. 11C, the crystalline semiconductor film 606a is etched, so that island-shaped semiconductor films 704 to 707 are formed. Various semiconductor elements typified by TFTs are formed using island-shaped semiconductor films 704 to 707. Next, a gate insulating film 708 is formed so as to cover the island-shaped semiconductor films 704 to 707. For the gate insulating film 708, for example, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon nitride oxide, or the like can be used. As a film formation method at that time, a plasma CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like can be used. For example, an insulating film containing silicon with a thickness of 30 nm to 200 nm may be formed by a sputtering method.

  Next, a conductive film is formed over the gate insulating film and etched to form a gate electrode. After that, an impurity imparting n-type or p-type conductivity is selectively added to the island-shaped semiconductor films 704 to 707 using a gate electrode or a resist formed and etched as a mask. Regions, LDD regions and the like are formed. Through the above steps, the N-type transistors 710 and 712 and the P-type transistors 711 and 713 can be formed over the same substrate (FIG. 11D). Subsequently, an insulating film 714 is formed as a protective film thereof. As this insulating film 714, a plasma CVD method or a sputtering method may be used to form an insulating film containing silicon with a thickness of 100 nm to 200 nm as a single layer or a stacked structure. For example, a silicon oxynitride film with a thickness of 100 nm may be formed by a plasma CVD method.

  Next, an organic insulating film 715 is formed over the insulating film 714. As the organic insulating film 715, an organic insulating film such as polyimide, polyamide, BCB, or acrylic applied by the SOG method is used. The insulating film 715 is preferably a film having excellent flatness because it has a strong meaning of relieving unevenness due to the TFT formed on the glass substrate 700 and flattening. Further, the insulating film 714 and the organic insulating film 715 are patterned by photolithography to form contact holes that reach the impurity regions.

  Next, a conductive film is formed using a conductive material, and the conductive film is patterned to form wirings 716 to 723. After that, when an insulating film 724 is formed as a protective film, a semiconductor device as illustrated in FIG. 11D is completed. Note that a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the laser annealing method of the present invention is not limited to the above-described TFT manufacturing process. The present invention is characterized in that a crystalline semiconductor film obtained using a laser light irradiation method is used as an active layer of a TFT. As a result, variations in mobility, threshold value, and on-current between elements can be suppressed. Note that laser light is not limited to the irradiation conditions described in this embodiment mode.

  Further, a crystallization step using a catalytic element may be provided before crystallization with laser light. The catalyst elements are nickel (Ni), germanium (Ge), iron (Fe), palladium (Pd), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu). An element such as gold (Au) can be used. When a crystallization process using a laser beam is performed after a crystallization process using a catalytic element, the crystal formed during crystallization using the catalytic element remains without being melted by the irradiation of the laser beam. Crystallization proceeds as a crystal nucleus.

  Therefore, the crystallinity of the semiconductor film can be further enhanced as compared with the case of only the crystallization process using laser light, and the surface roughness of the semiconductor film after crystallization using laser light can be suppressed. Accordingly, variation in characteristics of semiconductor elements formed later, typically TFTs, can be further suppressed, and off-current can be suppressed. Note that after the catalyst element is added and heat treatment is performed to promote crystallization, the crystallinity may be further increased by laser light irradiation, or the heat treatment step may be omitted. Specifically, after adding the catalyst element, laser light may be irradiated instead of the heat treatment to improve crystallinity.

  Although an example in which the laser irradiation method of the present invention is used for crystallization of a semiconductor film is described in this embodiment mode, the laser irradiation method of the present invention may be used to activate an impurity element doped in a semiconductor film. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the present invention can also be used for a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit or a semiconductor display device. For a transistor using a functional circuit such as a driver or a CPU, an LDD structure or a structure in which the LDD overlaps with a gate electrode is preferable, and the transistor is preferably miniaturized in order to increase the speed. Since the transistors 710 to 713 completed in this embodiment have an LDD structure, they are preferably used for a driver circuit that requires a low Ioff value.

  In the present embodiment, adjustment of the irradiation position of a plurality of linear beams is performed by moving the laser oscillator, so there is no need to adjust the optical system to correct the deviation of the irradiation position of each linear beam, Adjustment of the irradiation position of each linear beam becomes extremely easy. Therefore, the time required for maintenance can be remarkably shortened, leading to an improvement in productivity. Further, since the irradiation position is adjusted by moving the laser oscillator, the irradiation position of the linear beam can be finely adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the generation of a region where the laser is not irradiated or a region where the laser is overlapped and irradiated. By using the method for manufacturing a TFT of this embodiment mode, productivity and yield of the TFT can be improved.

(Embodiment 4)
In this embodiment mode, a thin film integrated circuit or a non-contact thin film integrated circuit device (a wireless chip, a wireless IC tag, RFID (also referred to as radio frequency identification)) is used with the laser irradiation device in FIGS. The manufacturing process is shown. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different modes, and it is easy for those skilled in the art to change the modes and details in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Understood. Therefore, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the description of this embodiment mode. Note that this embodiment can be freely combined with any of the other embodiments.

  An example of using an insulated TFT as a semiconductor element used in an integrated circuit of a wireless IC tag is shown below. However, a semiconductor element used in an integrated circuit of a wireless IC tag is not limited to a TFT, and any element is used. Can do. For example, in addition to the TFT, a memory element, a diode, a photoelectric conversion element, a resistance element, a coil, a capacitor element, an inductor, and the like can be typically given.

  FIG. 12 shows the X-axis stage 102 of FIGS. 3 and 4. The X-axis stage 102 has a suction function and can move in a direction along the X-axis. As shown in FIG. 12, a glass substrate (first substrate) 1700, a peeling layer 1701, a base insulating film 1702, and a semiconductor film 1703 are sequentially formed on the X-axis stage. Processes until the semiconductor film 1703 is formed will be described.

  First, a separation layer 1701 is formed over a glass substrate (first substrate) 1700 by a sputtering method. The separation layer 1701 can be formed by a sputtering method, a low pressure CVD method, a plasma CVD method, or the like. In this embodiment mode, amorphous silicon with a thickness of about 50 nm is formed by a sputtering method and used as the separation layer 1701. Note that the peeling layer 1701 is not limited to silicon, and may be formed using a material that can be selectively removed by etching (for example, W, Mo, or the like). The thickness of the release layer 1701 is desirably 50 to 60 nm.

  Next, a base insulating film 1702 is formed over the separation layer 1701. The base insulating film 1702 is provided to prevent an alkali metal such as Na or an alkaline earth metal contained in the first substrate from diffusing into the semiconductor film and adversely affecting the characteristics of a semiconductor element such as a TFT. The base insulating film 1702 also has a role of protecting the semiconductor element in a process of peeling the semiconductor element later. The base insulating film 1702 may be a single layer or a stack of a plurality of insulating films. Therefore, an insulating film such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxide containing nitrogen (SiON), or silicon nitride containing oxygen (SiNO) that can suppress diffusion of alkali metal or alkaline earth metal into the semiconductor film is used. Form.

  Next, a semiconductor film 1703 is formed over the base insulating film 1702. The semiconductor film 1703 is preferably formed without being exposed to the air after the base insulating film 1702 is formed. The thickness of the semiconductor film 1703 is 20 to 200 nm (desirably 40 to 170 nm, more desirably 50 to 150 nm).

  Then, the substrate manufactured in the above process is set on an X-axis stage as shown in FIG. 12, and the semiconductor film 1703 is irradiated with a linear beam using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention. Crystallize. Here, the state of the surface of the semiconductor film 1703 is schematically shown in FIG. After the semiconductor film 1703 is formed over the base insulating film and before the semiconductor film 1703 is crystallized, the semiconductor film 1703 is etched using a photolithography method, thereby forming an alignment marker 382. Alignment markers 601a, 601b, 601c, and 601d are formed in advance. A plurality of alignment markers 382 are formed on the semiconductor film, and the irradiation position of the linear beam is determined by recording the alignment markers 382 using a CCD camera. Of course, the alignment marker for determining the irradiation position may be provided at any position on the semiconductor film. Further, an alignment marker may be formed inside the glass substrate instead of being provided on the semiconductor film. In addition, when forming an alignment marker in a board | substrate, the laser beam which concentrated the energy locally inside a board | substrate is irradiated to a board | substrate. And the part which the state inside the board | substrate changed partially by irradiating is used as an alignment marker.

  In this embodiment, a laser irradiation apparatus having four laser oscillators, four sets of optical systems for forming a linear beam, four CCD cameras, an X-axis stage, and four Y-axis stages (FIG. 3, 4). First, laser beams emitted from the laser oscillators 111, 112, 113, and 114 are converted into linear beams 161 and 162 using the first optical system, the second optical system, the third optical system, and the fourth optical system. , 163, 164 (see FIG. 3).

  Next, with the CCD camera 371 installed on the Y-axis stage 405 in FIG. 4, the alignment marker 382 formed on the irradiated object is photographed and taken into an image processing apparatus (not shown). In this embodiment mode, the irradiation object is a semiconductor film 1703. And the pattern matching with the pattern of each alignment marker 382 taken in and the pattern registered into the image processing apparatus in advance is performed, and the positional information on each alignment marker is obtained. Then, the X-axis stage or Y-axis stage 201, 202, 202, 204 is moved based on the position information of the obtained alignment marker, and each of the linear beams 161, 162, 163, 164 is irradiated on the semiconductor film 1703. Adjust to each.

As the laser oscillator, for example, four 10 W second harmonic, continuous wave Nd: YVO ₄ lasers can be used. Of course, the number of laser oscillators is not limited to this, and may be any number as long as it is two or more. The outputs of the laser oscillators may be different from each other. By using laser oscillators with different outputs, it is possible to form semiconductor films having different crystallinity by one scan.

  After the alignment of the linear beams, the X-axis stage is moved, and each linear beam is simultaneously scanned in the direction indicated by the dashed arrows 802a, 802b, 802c, and 802d shown in FIG. 13 to obtain crystal regions 805a, 805b, and 805c. , 805d. At this time, it is preferable that the X-axis direction is parallel to the short-side direction of each of the linear beams 161, 162, 163, and 164 in terms of productivity.

  The X-axis stage is scanned in the X-axis direction to crystallize the crystal regions 805a, 805b, 805c, and 805d shown in FIG. 13, and then each linear beam is moved along the Y-axis stage to indicate arrows 803a, 803b, 803c, and 803d. Move in the direction shown. At this time, each Y-axis stage is moved in accordance with the width of the crystal region. Thereafter, the X-axis stage is again scanned simultaneously in the directions indicated by broken line arrows 804a, 804b, 804c, and 804d to form crystal regions 806a, 806b, 806c, and 806d. By repeating these operations, the semiconductor film formed on the entire surface of the substrate can be efficiently laser-annealed. At this time, the apparatus area can be reduced by using stages that move independently from each other as the Y-axis stage. As a stage that enables such a thing, there is a stage driven by a linear motor.

  Next, a manufacturing process of the thin film integrated circuit will be described with reference to FIGS. 14A is a cross-sectional view taken along a broken line connecting M and N in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14A, a separation layer 1701, a base insulating film 1702, and a semiconductor film 1703 are sequentially stacked over a first substrate 1700. Then, a crystalline semiconductor film 805a (crystalline region) is formed by irradiation of the semiconductor film 1703 with a linear beam using the laser irradiation apparatus of this embodiment (see FIG. 14A).

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 14B, the semiconductor film 805a having a crystal structure is etched to form island-shaped semiconductor layers 1705 to 1707, and then a gate insulating film 1708 is formed. The gate insulating film 1708 can be formed using a single layer or a stacked layer of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon oxide containing nitrogen, or silicon nitride containing oxygen by a plasma CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like.

  Note that after the gate insulating film 1708 is formed, heat treatment is performed at 300 to 450 ° C. for 1 to 12 hours in an atmosphere containing 3% or more of hydrogen to hydrogenate the island-shaped semiconductor films 1705 to 1707. You can do it. Further, plasma hydrogenation (using hydrogen excited by plasma) may be performed as another means of hydrogenation.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14C, gate electrodes 1709 to 1711 are formed. Here, after forming Si and W so as to be stacked by a sputtering method, gate electrodes 1709 to 1711 are formed by performing etching using the resist 1712 as a mask. Needless to say, the conductive material, structure, and manufacturing method of the gate electrodes 1709 to 1711 are not limited to these, and can be selected as appropriate. For example, a stacked structure of Si and NiSi (nickel silicide) doped with an n-type impurity (phosphorus, arsenic, or the like) or a stacked structure of TaN (tantalum nitride) and W (tungsten) may be used. Alternatively, a single layer may be formed using various conductive materials. In the case where the gate electrode and the antenna are formed at the same time, materials may be selected in consideration of their functions.

  A mask made of silicon oxide or the like may be used instead of the resist mask. In this case, a step of etching to form a mask (referred to as a hard mask) of silicon oxide, silicon oxide containing nitrogen, or the like is added, but since the film thickness of the mask during etching is less than that of the resist, a desired width is obtained. Gate electrodes 1709 to 1711 can be formed. Alternatively, the gate electrodes 1709 to 1711 may be selectively formed by a droplet discharge method without using the resist 1712.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 14D, the island-shaped semiconductor film 1706 to be a p-channel TFT is covered with a resist 1713, and the island-shaped semiconductor films 1705 and 1707 are formed on the island-shaped semiconductor films 1705 and 1707 by using the gate electrodes 1709 and 1711 as masks. An impurity element imparting a mold (typically, P (phosphorus) or As (arsenic)) is doped at a low concentration. By this doping step, doping is performed through the gate insulating film 1708, and a pair of low-concentration impurity regions 1716 and 1717 are formed in the island-shaped semiconductor films 1705 and 1707. Note that this doping step may be performed without covering the island-shaped semiconductor film 1706 to be a p-channel TFT with the resist 1713.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14E, after removing the resist 1713 by ashing or the like, a resist 1718 is newly formed so as to cover the island-shaped semiconductor films 1705 and 1707 to be n-channel TFTs. Using the electrode 1710 as a mask, the island-shaped semiconductor film 1706 is doped with an impurity element imparting p-type conductivity (typically B (boron)) at a high concentration. By this doping step, doping is performed through the gate insulating film 1708, and a pair of p-type high concentration impurity regions 1720 are formed in the island-shaped semiconductor film 1706.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 15A, after the resist 1718 is removed by ashing or the like, an insulating film 1721 is formed so as to cover the gate insulating film 1708 and the gate electrodes 1709 to 1711.

After that, the insulating film 1721 and the gate insulating film 1708 are partially etched by an etch back method, and the side walls 1722 to 1724 in contact with the side walls of the gate electrodes 1709 to 1712 are self-aligned as shown in FIG. (Self-aligned). As an etching gas, a mixed gas of CHF ₃ and He was used. Note that the step of forming the sidewall is not limited to these.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 15C, a resist 1726 is newly formed so as to cover the island-shaped semiconductor film 1506 to be a p-channel TFT, and the gate electrodes 1709 and 1711 and the sidewalls 1722 and 1724 are masked. As described above, an impurity element imparting n-type (typically P or As) is doped at a high concentration. By this doping step, doping is performed through the gate insulating film 1708, and a pair of n-type high concentration impurity regions 1727 and 1728 are formed in the island-shaped semiconductor films 1705 and 1707.

  Next, after removing the resist 1726 by ashing or the like, the impurity region may be thermally activated. For example, after a silicon oxide film containing nitrogen with a thickness of 50 nm is formed, heat treatment may be performed at 550 ° C. for 4 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere. In addition, after forming a silicon nitride film containing hydrogen to a thickness of 100 nm, defects in the polycrystalline semiconductor film can be improved by performing heat treatment at 410 ° C. for 1 hour in a nitrogen atmosphere. This terminates dangling bonds existing in the polycrystalline semiconductor film, for example, and is called a hydrogenation process.

  Through the series of steps described above, an n-channel TFT 1730, a p-channel TFT 1731, and an n-channel TFT 1732 are formed. In the above manufacturing process, a TFT having an LDD length of 0.2 μm to 2 μm can be formed by appropriately changing the conditions of the etch-back method and adjusting the size of the sidewall. Further, after that, a passivation film for protecting the TFTs 1730 to 1732 may be formed.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 16A, a first interlayer insulating film 1733 is formed so as to cover the TFTs 1730 to 1732. Further, a second interlayer insulating film 1734 is formed over the first interlayer insulating film 1733. Note that the first interlayer insulating film 1733 or the second interlayer insulating film 1734 and the first interlayer insulating film 1733 or 2 due to stress generated from a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between a conductive material or the like that forms a wiring to be formed later In order to prevent the second interlayer insulating film 1734 from peeling or cracking, a filler may be mixed in the first interlayer insulating film 1733 or the second interlayer insulating film 1734.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 16A, contact holes are formed in the first interlayer insulating film 1733, the second interlayer insulating film 1734, and the gate insulating film 1708, and wirings 1735 to 1739 connected to the TFTs 1730 to 1732 are formed. Form. Note that the wirings 1735 and 1736 are in the high-concentration impurity region 1727 of the n-channel TFT 1730, the wirings 1736 and 1737 are in the high-concentration impurity region 1720 of the p-channel TFT 1731, and the wirings 1738 and 1739 are high-concentration impurity regions of the n-channel TFT 1732. 1728, respectively. Further, the wiring 1739 is also connected to the gate electrode 1711 of the n-channel TFT 1732. The n-channel TFT 1732 can be used as a memory element of a random number ROM.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 16B, a third interlayer insulating film 1741 is formed over the second interlayer insulating film 1734 so as to cover the wirings 1735 to 1739. The third interlayer insulating film 1741 is formed to have an opening at a position where the wiring 1735 is partially exposed. Note that the third interlayer insulating film 1741 can be formed using a material similar to that of the first interlayer insulating film 1733.

  Next, an antenna 1742 is formed over the third interlayer insulating film 1741. The antenna 1742 is formed using a conductive material including one or more metals such as Ag, Au, Cu, Pd, Cr, Mo, Ti, Ta, W, Al, Fe, Co, Zn, Sn, and Ni, and a metal compound. Can do. The antenna 1742 is connected to the wiring 1735. Note that in FIG. 16B, the antenna 1742 is directly connected to the wiring 1735; however, the wireless IC tag of the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, the antenna 1742 and the wiring 1735 may be electrically connected using a separately formed wiring.

  The antenna 1742 can be formed by a printing method, a photolithography method, an evaporation method, a droplet discharge method, or the like. In FIG. 16B, the antenna 1742 is formed using a single-layer conductive film; however, the antenna 1742 can be formed by stacking a plurality of conductive films. For example, the antenna 1742 may be formed by coating a wiring formed of Ni or the like with electroless plating. The droplet discharge method means a method of forming a predetermined pattern by discharging droplets containing a predetermined composition from the pores, and includes an ink jet method and the like in its category. The printing method includes a screen printing method and an offset printing method. By using a printing method or a droplet discharge method, the antenna 1742 can be formed without using an exposure mask. In addition, unlike the photolithography method, there is no waste of material that is removed by etching in the droplet discharge method and the printing method. Further, since it is not necessary to use an expensive mask for exposure, the cost for manufacturing a wireless IC tag can be suppressed.

In the case of using a droplet discharge method or various printing methods, for example, conductive particles in which Cu is coated with Ag can be used. Note that in the case where the antenna 1742 is formed by a droplet discharge method, it is preferable to perform treatment on the surface of the third interlayer insulating film 1741 so as to increase the adhesion of the antenna 1742. As a method for improving the adhesion, specifically, for example, a method of attaching a metal or a metal compound capable of improving the adhesion of the conductive film or the insulating film to the surface of the third interlayer insulating film 1741 by catalytic action. An organic insulating film having high adhesion to the conductive film or insulating film to be formed, a method of attaching a metal or a metal compound to the surface of the third interlayer insulating film 1741, and a surface of the third interlayer insulating film 1741 Examples include a method of performing surface modification by performing plasma treatment under atmospheric pressure or reduced pressure.

  When the metal or metal compound attached to the third interlayer insulating film 1741 has conductivity, the sheet resistance is controlled so that the normal operation of the antenna is not hindered. Specifically, the average thickness of the conductive metal or metal compound is controlled to be, for example, 1 to 10 nm, or these metals or metal compounds are partially or entirely insulated by oxidation. Or just make it. Alternatively, the deposited metal or metal compound may be selectively removed by etching except for the region where the adhesion is desired to be improved. Alternatively, the metal or the metal compound may be selectively attached only to a specific region by using a droplet discharge method, a printing method, a sol-gel method, or the like, instead of attaching the metal or the metal compound to the entire surface of the substrate in advance. Note that the metal or metal compound does not need to be a completely continuous film on the surface of the third interlayer insulating film 1741, and may be dispersed to some extent.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 17A, after the antenna 1742 is formed, a protective layer 1745 is formed over the third interlayer insulating film 1741 so as to cover the antenna 1742. The protective layer 1745 is formed using a material that can protect the antenna 1742 when the peeling layer 1701 is removed later by etching. For example, the protective layer 1745 can be formed by applying an epoxy resin, an acrylate resin, or a silicon resin soluble in water or alcohols to the entire surface.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 17B, a groove 1746 is formed in order to separate the wireless IC tags individually. The groove 1746 may be formed so long as the peeling layer 1701 is exposed. The groove 1746 can be formed by dicing, scribing, or the like. Note that in the case where it is not necessary to separate the wireless IC tag formed over the first substrate 1700, the groove 1746 is not necessarily formed.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 17C, the peeling layer 1701 is removed by etching. Here, halogen fluoride is used as an etching gas, and this gas is introduced from the groove 1746. For example, ClF ₃ (chlorine trifluoride) is used, the temperature is 350 ° C., the flow rate is 300 sccm, the atmospheric pressure is 798 Pascal (798 Pa), and the treatment time is 3 hours. Further, a gas in which nitrogen is mixed with ClF ₃ gas may be used. By using halogen fluoride such as ClF ₃ , the separation layer 1701 is selectively etched, and the first substrate 1700 can be separated from the TFTs 1730 to 1732. The halogen fluoride may be either a gas or a liquid.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 18A, the peeled TFTs 1730 to 1732 and the antenna 1742 are attached to the second substrate 1751 with an adhesive 1750. As the adhesive 1750, a material capable of bonding the second substrate 1751 and the base insulating film 1702 is used. As the adhesive 1750, for example, various curable adhesives such as a reactive curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, a photocurable adhesive such as an ultraviolet curable adhesive, and an anaerobic adhesive can be used.

  Note that the second substrate 1751 can be formed using an organic material such as flexible paper or plastic.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 18B, after the protective layer 1745 is removed, an adhesive 1752 is applied over the third interlayer insulating film 1741 so as to cover the antenna 1742, and a cover material 1753 is attached thereto. The cover material 1753 can be formed using a flexible organic material such as paper or plastic, like the second substrate 1751. The thickness of the adhesive 1752 may be, for example, 10 to 200 μm.

  The adhesive 1752 is formed using a material that can bond the cover material 1753 to the third interlayer insulating film 1741 and the antenna 1742. As the adhesive 1752, for example, various curable adhesives such as a reactive curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, a photocurable adhesive such as an ultraviolet curable adhesive, and an anaerobic adhesive can be used.

  The wireless IC tag is completed through the above-described steps. By the above manufacturing method, an extremely thin integrated circuit with a total film thickness of 0.3 μm to 3 μm, typically about 2 μm, can be formed between the second substrate 1751 and the cover material 1753.

Note that the thickness of the integrated circuit includes not only the thickness of the semiconductor element itself but also the thicknesses of various insulating films and interlayer insulating films formed between the adhesive 1750 and the adhesive 1752. Further, the area occupied by the integrated circuit in the wireless IC tag, 5 mm square (25 mm ²⁾ or less, and more preferably may be 0.3mm square (0.09 mm ²⁾ to 4 mm square (16 mm ²⁾ degree.

  Note that although this embodiment mode describes a method in which a separation layer is provided between the first substrate 1700 with high heat resistance and the integrated circuit, and the separation layer is removed by etching, whereby the substrate and the integrated circuit are separated. The manufacturing method of the wireless IC tag of the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a metal oxide film may be provided between a substrate having high heat resistance and the integrated circuit, and the integrated circuit may be peeled by weakening the metal oxide film by crystallization. Alternatively, a release layer using an amorphous semiconductor film containing hydrogen is provided between the substrate with high heat resistance and the integrated circuit, and the substrate and the integrated circuit are separated by removing the release layer by laser beam irradiation. You may do it. Alternatively, the integrated circuit may be separated from the substrate by mechanically removing the highly heat-resistant substrate on which the integrated circuit is formed or removing the substrate by etching with a solution or gas.

  Note that although an example in which the antenna is formed over the same substrate as the integrated circuit has been described in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this structure. An antenna formed over another substrate and the integrated circuit may be bonded later to be electrically connected.

  Note that the frequency of radio waves generally used in RFID (radio frequency identification) is 13.56 MHz and 2.45 GHz, and a wireless IC tag is formed so that radio waves of these frequencies can be detected. This is very important for improving versatility.

  The wireless IC tag of this embodiment has an advantage that radio waves are less likely to be shielded than an RFID formed using a semiconductor substrate, and the signal can be prevented from being attenuated by shielding the radio waves. Accordingly, since a semiconductor substrate is not necessary, the cost of the wireless IC tag can be significantly reduced.

  Note that although an example in which the integrated circuit is separated and attached to a flexible substrate is described in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, when a substrate having a heat resistant temperature that can withstand heat treatment in a manufacturing process of an integrated circuit, such as a glass substrate, is used in an IC tag, the integrated circuit is not necessarily peeled off.

  In the present embodiment, adjustment of the irradiation position of a plurality of linear beams is performed by moving the laser oscillator, so there is no need to adjust the optical system to correct the deviation of the irradiation position of each linear beam, Adjustment of the irradiation position of each linear beam becomes extremely easy. Therefore, the time required for maintenance can be remarkably shortened, leading to an improvement in productivity. Further, since the irradiation position is adjusted by moving the laser oscillator, the irradiation position of the linear beam can be finely adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the generation of a region where the laser is not irradiated or a region where the laser is overlapped and irradiated. By using the method for manufacturing a TFT of this embodiment mode, productivity and yield of the TFT can be improved.

(Embodiment 5)
According to the present invention, since the entire surface of the substrate can be annealed uniformly, the productivity and integration degree of the semiconductor device can be improved. Furthermore, since it is possible to irradiate lasers with different outputs onto the same substrate in a single scan, it becomes possible to increase the degree of freedom of the layout and size of the semiconductor device and to improve the degree of integration. . In addition, since the crystallinity of the portion crystallized by the same laser is the same in any part of the substrate, the product quality of the manufactured semiconductor device is in a good state, and variations in the product quality can be eliminated. It becomes possible. By using the semiconductor device of the present invention, an electronic device can be manufactured with high throughput and good quality. A specific example will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different modes, and it is easy for those skilled in the art to change the modes and details in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Understood. Therefore, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the description of this embodiment mode. Note that this embodiment can be freely combined with any of the other embodiments.

  FIG. 19A illustrates a display device, which includes a housing 2201, a support base 2202, a display portion 2203, a speaker portion 2204, a video input terminal 2205, and the like. The display portion 2203 includes a thin film transistor to form a pixel, and the thin film transistor is manufactured by a method similar to that in Embodiment 3. Accordingly, the area of the crystal region can be increased and the area of the poor crystallinity region can be reduced without causing fringes due to laser diffraction in the semiconductor film, and the productivity of the display device can be improved. Furthermore, since the present invention can efficiently perform laser irradiation treatment on a large-area substrate, productivity of the display device can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to a reduction in production cost of a large screen display device. The display device may include a memory, a driver circuit portion, and the like, and the semiconductor device of the present invention may be applied to the memory, the driver circuit portion, and the like. In addition, as a display device, a liquid crystal display device using an electro-optic effect of liquid crystal, a display device using a light emitting material such as electroluminescence, a display device using an electron source element, a contrast medium whose reflectivity is changed by application of a field Various display devices using a combination of a thin film transistor and various display media such as a display device using electronic ink (also referred to as electronic ink) are included. The usage forms include all information display devices such as computers, televisions, information display devices such as electronic books, advertisement displays, and guidance displays.

  FIG. 19B illustrates a computer, which includes a housing 2211, a display portion 2212, a keyboard 2213, an external connection port 2214, a pointing mouse 2215, and the like. A thin film transistor is included in the display portion 2212, a CPU, a memory, a driver circuit portion, and the like attached to the computer. By using the thin film transistor manufactured using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention for the display portion 2212, a CPU, a memory, a driver circuit portion, and the like attached to a computer, quality can be improved and variation in quality can be reduced. .

FIG. 19C illustrates a mobile phone, which is a typical example of a mobile terminal. This mobile phone includes a housing 2221, a display portion 2222, operation keys 2223, and the like. Thin film transistors are included in a functional circuit portion such as a CPU and a memory attached to the display portion 2222 and the mobile phone. The thin film transistor manufactured using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention is used for a functional circuit portion such as a CPU or a memory attached to the display portion 2222 or a mobile phone, so that quality can be improved and variation in quality can be reduced. it can. A semiconductor device manufactured using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention can be used for electronic devices such as the above mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), digital cameras, and small game machines. .

19D and 19E are digital cameras. Note that FIG. 19E illustrates the back side of FIG. This digital camera includes a housing 2231, a display portion 2232, a lens 2233, operation keys 2234, a shutter 2235, and the like. Thin film transistors are provided in the display portion 2232, a driver circuit portion for controlling the display portion 2232, and the like. The thin film transistor manufactured using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention is used for the display portion 2232, a driver circuit portion for controlling the display portion 2232, other circuits, and the like, whereby quality is improved and variation in quality is reduced. be able to.

FIG. 19F illustrates a digital video camera. This digital video camera includes a main body 2241, a display portion 2242, a housing 2243, an external connection port 2244, a remote control receiving portion 2245, an image receiving portion 2246, a battery 2247, an audio input portion 2248, operation keys 2249, an eyepiece portion 2250, and the like. . A thin film transistor is included in a driver circuit portion or the like that controls the display portion 2242. When a thin film transistor manufactured using the laser irradiation apparatus of the present invention is used for a driver circuit portion for controlling the display portion 2242 and other circuits, quality can be improved and variation in quality can be reduced.

  In addition, a thin film transistor manufactured using the laser processing apparatus of the present invention can be used as a thin film integrated circuit or a non-contact thin film integrated circuit device (a wireless IC tag or RFID (also referred to as radio frequency identification (RFID)). A thin film integrated circuit and a non-contact thin film integrated circuit manufactured by using the manufacturing method described in another embodiment can be used for a tag or a memory.

FIG. 20A shows a state where the wireless IC tag 2302 is attached to the passport 2301. Further, the wireless IC tag 2302 may be embedded in the passport 2301. Similarly, affixing or embedding a wireless IC tag on a driver's license, credit card, banknote, coin, securities, gift certificate, ticket, traveler's check (T / C), health insurance card, resident's card, family register copy, etc. Can do. In this case, only information indicating authenticity is input to the wireless IC tag, and an access right is set so that information cannot be read or written illegally. By using it as a tag in this way, it becomes possible to distinguish it from a forged one.

  In addition, a wireless IC tag can be used as a memory. FIG. 20B illustrates an example in which the wireless IC tag 2311 is embedded in a label attached to a vegetable package of vegetables. Further, a wireless IC tag may be attached or embedded in the package itself. The wireless IC tag 2311 includes a production stage process such as production place, producer, date of manufacture, processing method, product distribution process, price, quantity, usage, shape, weight, expiration date, various authentication information, etc. Can be recorded. Information from the wireless IC tag 2311 is received and read by the antenna unit 2313 of the wireless reader 2312 and displayed on the display unit 2314 of the reader 2312 so that the wholesaler, retailer, and consumer can easily grasp the information. become. In addition, by setting access rights for each of producers, traders, and consumers, a system is incapable of reading, writing, rewriting, and erasing without access rights.

  The wireless IC tag can be used as follows. At the time of accounting, the fact that accounting has been completed is entered in the wireless IC tag, and a check means is provided at the exit to check whether accounting has been written on the wireless IC tag. If you try to leave the store without checking out, an alarm will sound. This method can prevent forgetting to pay and shoplifting.

  Furthermore, in consideration of customer privacy protection, the following method can be used. At the stage of accounting at the cash register, (1) lock the data input to the wireless IC tag with a password, (2) encrypt the data itself input to the wireless IC tag, (3) wireless Either the data input to the IC tag is deleted, or (4) the data input to the wireless IC tag is destroyed. Then, by providing a check means at the exit, it is checked whether any of the processes (1) to (4) has been performed, or whether the wireless IC tag data has not been processed. Check for accounting. In this way, it is possible to check whether or not there is a transaction in the store, and it is possible to prevent information on the wireless IC tag from being read outside the store against the will of the owner.

  Note that there are several methods for destroying the data input to the wireless IC tag (4). For example, (a) a method of writing only “0 (off)” or “1 (on)” or both “0” and “1” into at least a part of electronic data of the wireless IC tag and destroying only the data Alternatively, (b) a method in which a current is excessively supplied to the wireless IC tag and a part of wiring of a semiconductor element included in the wireless IC tag is physically destroyed can be used.

  Since the wireless tag mentioned above is higher in manufacturing cost than a conventionally used barcode, it is necessary to reduce the cost. By using the present invention, uniform laser annealing of a semiconductor film is possible, so that a semiconductor device with good quality and no variation can be efficiently manufactured, which is effective for cost reduction. Further, any wireless tag can be manufactured with high quality and high reliability without any performance variation.

  As described above, the applicable range of the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention is so wide that the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention can be used for electronic devices in various fields.

The figure which showed the structure of the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which showed the structure of the laser oscillator of this invention The figure which showed the structure of the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which showed the structure of the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which showed the laser irradiation apparatus which consists of three laser oscillators. The figure which showed irradiation by the laser irradiation apparatus which consists of three laser oscillators. The figure which showed irradiation by the laser irradiation apparatus which consists of three laser oscillators. The figure which shows the mode of the laser irradiation by the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which shows the mode of the laser irradiation by the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which shows the mode of the laser irradiation by the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which shows the outline | summary of the TFT preparation process using the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which shows the mode of the laser irradiation by the laser oscillator of this invention. The figure which shows the mode of the laser irradiation by the laser oscillator of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the laser oscillator of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the laser oscillator of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the laser oscillator of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the laser oscillator of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the laser oscillator of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an outline of an electronic device using a semiconductor device of the invention. The figure which shows the outline | summary of the articles | goods using the semiconductor device of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 Irradiated object 102 X-axis stage 111 Laser oscillator 112 Laser oscillator 113 Laser oscillator 114 Laser oscillator 121 Slit 122 Slit 123 Slit 124 Slit 131 Mirror 132 Mirror 133 Mirror 134 Mirror 141 Cylindrical lens 142 Cylindrical lens 143 Cylindrical lens 144 Cylindrical lens 151 Cylindrical Lens 152 Cylindrical lens 153 Cylindrical lens 154 Cylindrical lens 161 Linear beam 162 Linear beam 163 Linear beam 164 Linear beam 171 CCD camera 172 CCD camera 173 CCD camera 174 CCD camera 181 Alignment marker 182 Alignment marker 183 Alignment marker 184 Alignment Marker

Claims (10)

A plurality of laser oscillators for emitting laser light;
A plurality of optical systems for forming the laser beam into a linear beam on the surface of the irradiated body;
Means for moving the irradiated object in a direction along a short side of the linear beam;
Means for moving the plurality of laser oscillators independently of each other in a direction along the long side of the linear beam;
A laser irradiation apparatus comprising means for detecting an alignment marker position. A plurality of laser oscillators for emitting laser light;
A plurality of optical systems for forming the laser beam into a linear beam on the surface of the irradiated body;
Having an alignment marker detection means and an image processing apparatus, having a means for determining a laser irradiation position;
A first stage provided with the irradiated body, movable in a short side direction of the linear beam;
A plurality of second stages movable in the long-side direction of the linear beam,
The laser oscillator and the optical system are installed one by one on each of the plurality of second stages,
The plurality of second stages have independent moving mechanisms, respectively. In claim 2,
The laser irradiation apparatus, wherein the alignment marker detection means is a CCD camera. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
The laser irradiation apparatus characterized in that the shape of the linear beam is rectangular or elliptical. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
A laser irradiation apparatus using a YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a GdVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, or an Ar laser as the laser oscillator. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
A laser irradiation apparatus, wherein the plurality of laser oscillators have different outputs. Installing an insulating substrate having an amorphous semiconductor film on the first stage;
A plurality of linear beams emitted from a plurality of laser oscillators installed on the plurality of second stages by moving the plurality of second stages independently from each other in a predetermined direction are applied to the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film. Irradiate
The first stage is moved in a direction along the short side of the linear beam while irradiating a plurality of the linear beams to a plurality of locations on the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film, thereby moving the amorphous semiconductor film A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein the predetermined direction is a direction along a long side of the linear beam. Installing an insulating substrate having an amorphous semiconductor film on the first stage;
Forming a plurality of alignment markers on the amorphous semiconductor film;
Irradiating the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film with a plurality of linear beams emitted from a plurality of laser oscillators installed on a plurality of second stages;
A plurality of second stages are moved independently from each other in the direction along the long side of the linear beam based on the position of the alignment marker to adjust the irradiation position of the plurality of linear beams, Is irradiated to a plurality of locations on the surface of the amorphous semiconductor film,
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein the amorphous semiconductor film is crystallized by moving the first stage in a direction along a short side of the linear beam while irradiating the linear beam. In claim 7 or claim 8,
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein one laser oscillator is installed in each of the plurality of second stages. In any one of Claims 7 to 9,
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein outputs of the plurality of laser oscillators are different from each other.

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