JP2007103961A - Laser irradiator and irradiation method, and process for fabricating semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a more uniform laser irradiation method, and to provide a laser irradiator performing that method. <P>SOLUTION: The laser irradiator comprises a laser, a means for shaping a laser beam exiting the laser into an elliptical or rectangular beam on the irradiation plane or in the vicinity thereof, a means for moving the irradiation plane relatively to the laser beam, and a means for setting a constant inner product of a unit vector in the moving direction of the irradiation plane and a unit vector in the incident direction of the laser beam to the irradiation plane. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser irradiation method and a laser irradiation apparatus for performing the laser irradiation apparatus (an apparatus including a laser and an optical system for guiding laser light output from the laser to an irradiation object). Further, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device manufactured by including laser irradiation in a process. Note that the semiconductor device here includes an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal display device and a light-emitting device and an electronic device including the electro-optical device as a component.

  In recent years, a technique for crystallizing an amorphous semiconductor film formed over an insulating substrate such as glass to form a semiconductor film having a crystal structure (hereinafter referred to as a crystalline semiconductor film) has been widely studied. As a crystallization method, a thermal annealing method using a furnace annealing furnace, a rapid thermal annealing method (RTA method), a laser annealing method, or the like has been studied. In crystallization, any one or a combination of these methods can be used.

  A crystalline semiconductor film has very high mobility compared to an amorphous semiconductor film. For this reason, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed using this crystalline semiconductor film. For example, an active matrix type in which a TFT for a pixel portion or a pixel portion and a drive circuit are formed on a single glass substrate. Are used in liquid crystal display devices.

  Usually, in order to crystallize an amorphous semiconductor film in a furnace annealing furnace, a heat treatment at 600 ° C. or more for 10 hours or more is required. The substrate material applicable to this crystallization is quartz, but the quartz substrate is expensive and particularly difficult to process into a large area. One of the means for increasing the production efficiency is to increase the area of the substrate. This is the reason why the research for forming a semiconductor film on a glass substrate that is inexpensive and easy to process into a large area substrate is conducted. . In recent years, the use of a glass substrate with a side exceeding 1 m has been considered.

  As one example of the above research, a thermal crystallization method using a metal element makes it possible to lower the crystallization temperature, which has been a problem in the past (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This method makes it possible to form a crystalline semiconductor film by adding a trace amount of an element such as nickel, palladium, or lead to an amorphous semiconductor film and then performing a heat treatment at 550 ° C. for 4 hours. If it is 550 degreeC, since it is below the strain point temperature of a glass substrate, it is a temperature without worrying about a deformation | transformation.

  On the other hand, since the laser annealing method can give high energy only to the semiconductor film without raising the temperature of the substrate so much, it can be used not only for a glass substrate having a low strain point temperature but also for a plastic substrate. This is a technology that is attracting attention.

  An example of the laser annealing method is a method in which a pulsed laser beam typified by an excimer laser is shaped by an optical system so that a square spot of several centimeters square or a linear shape with a length of 100 mm or more is formed on the irradiated surface. This is a method of performing annealing by moving the irradiation position relative to the irradiated object (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Here, “linear” does not mean “line” in a strict sense, but means a rectangle (or oval) having a large aspect ratio. For example, the aspect ratio is 2 or more (preferably 10 to 10,000), but it is still included in the laser light (rectangular beam) having a rectangular shape on the irradiation surface. The linear shape is used to ensure sufficient energy density for annealing the irradiated object, and sufficient annealing can be performed on the irradiated object even in a rectangular or planar shape. If it is.

  The crystalline semiconductor film thus manufactured is formed by aggregating a plurality of crystal grains, and the positions and sizes of the crystal grains are random. A TFT manufactured on a glass substrate is formed by separating the crystalline semiconductor into island-shaped patterning for element isolation. In that case, the position and size of the crystal grains could not be specified and formed. Compared with the inside of a crystal grain, the interface (crystal grain boundary) of a crystal grain has innumerable recombination centers and trap centers due to an amorphous structure or crystal defects. It is known that when carriers are trapped in this trapping center, the grain boundary potential rises and becomes a barrier against the carriers, so that the current transport characteristics of the carriers are reduced. The crystallinity of the semiconductor film in the channel formation region has a significant effect on the characteristics of the TFT, but it is almost impossible to form the channel formation region with a single crystal semiconductor film by eliminating the influence of crystal grain boundaries. there were.

JP-A-7-183540 JP-A-8-195357

Recently, by irradiating a semiconductor film while scanning in one direction with a continuous wave laser (hereinafter referred to as CW laser), crystals are grown in the scanning direction, and single crystal grains extending in that direction are formed. Technology is drawing attention. If this method is used, it is believed that a crystal grain boundary with at least in the TFT channel direction can be formed. However, in this method, for the convenience of using a CW laser in a wavelength region that is sufficiently absorbed by the semiconductor film, only a very small laser having an output of about 10 W can be applied. It is inferior compared. A CW laser suitable for this method has a high output, a wavelength less than that of visible light, and a very high output stability. For example, the second harmonic of a YVO ₄ laser or a YAG laser The second harmonic, the second harmonic of the YLF laser, the second harmonic of the glass laser, the second harmonic of the YalO ₃ laser, the Ar laser, and the like are applicable. The harmonic laser is generally doped with Nd, Yb, Cr, etc., and this is excited to oscillate the laser. The practitioner may select the type of dopant as appropriate. However, the lasers enumerated above are very high in coherence, and therefore uneven irradiation due to interference is likely to occur. In addition, there is a disadvantage that the state of annealing of the semiconductor film changes due to the difference in the incident angle of the laser beam to the semiconductor film. An object of the present invention is to overcome such drawbacks.

  In the crystallization process of a semiconductor film using a CW laser, a laser beam is processed into a long ellipse on the irradiation surface in order to increase the productivity as much as possible, and the minor axis direction of the elliptical laser beam (hereinafter referred to as an elliptical beam). In order to crystallize a semiconductor film, it is actively performed. The reason why the shape of the laser beam after processing is elliptical is that the shape of the original laser beam is circular or close to it. Alternatively, if the original shape of the laser beam is a rectangular shape, it may be enlarged in one direction with a cylindrical lens or the like to be processed into a long rectangular shape and used in the same manner. In this specification, the elliptical beam and the rectangular beam are collectively referred to as a long beam. Alternatively, a plurality of laser beams may be processed into long beams and connected to form a longer beam. The present invention provides a long beam irradiation method and irradiation apparatus with little irradiation unevenness in such a process, and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.

  The structure of the invention relating to the laser irradiation apparatus disclosed in this specification includes a laser, means for processing a laser beam emitted from the laser into a long beam at or near an irradiation surface, and the irradiation with respect to the laser beam. Means for moving the surface relatively in the first direction, means for moving the irradiation surface relative to the laser beam in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and in the first direction. And a means for reversing a mirror image of an incident angle of the laser beam with respect to the irradiation surface in a plane perpendicular to the surface.

  Another aspect of the invention relating to the laser irradiation apparatus disclosed in this specification includes: a laser; means for processing a laser beam emitted from the laser into a long beam at or near an irradiation surface; and Means for moving the irradiation surface relative to the first direction; means for moving the irradiation surface relative to the laser beam in a second direction opposite to the first direction; and the laser beam. By changing the incident angle of the laser beam to the substrate according to the direction of movement, and the inner product of the unit vector in the first direction and the unit vector in the incident direction of the laser beam with respect to the irradiation surface, and the unit vector in the second direction And means for equalizing the inner product of the unit vector of the incident direction of the laser beam with respect to the irradiation surface.

In the structure of the invention, the laser is a gas laser, a solid-state laser, or a metal vapor laser. Examples of the gas laser include an Ar laser, a Kr laser, an XeF excimer laser, an XeCl excimer laser, a KrF excimer laser, an ArF excimer laser, an F ₂ excimer laser, and a CO ₂ laser. The solid laser includes a YAG laser and a YVO ₄ laser. , YLF laser, YalO ₃ laser, glass laser, ruby laser, alexandrite laser, Ti: sapphire laser, and the like, and examples of the metal laser include helium cadmium laser, copper vapor laser, and gold vapor laser. The present invention is particularly desirable when applied to a continuous wave laser.

  In the configuration of the above invention, the laser beam is converted into a harmonic by a nonlinear optical element. Crystals used in the nonlinear optical element are excellent in terms of conversion efficiency when, for example, LBO, BBO, KDP, KTP, KB5, and CLBO are used. By introducing these nonlinear optical elements into the laser resonator, the conversion efficiency can be greatly increased. The harmonic laser is generally doped with Nd, Yb, Cr, etc., and this is excited to oscillate the laser. The practitioner may select the type of dopant as appropriate.

In the configuration of the above invention, it is preferable that the laser beam be oscillated by TEM ₀₀ because the energy uniformity of the obtained long beam can be increased.

In the structure of the present invention, a short side (referred to as a short diameter in this specification) is a plane perpendicular to the irradiation surface and the shape of the long beam is regarded as a rectangle.
) Is defined as an incident surface, the incident angle φ of the laser beam is set to be W on the irradiation surface, and the substrate has translucency with respect to the laser beam. Φ ≧ arctan (W / 2d) when the thickness of the film is d
It is characterized by satisfying. When the locus of the laser beam is not on the incident surface, the incident angle of the projection of the locus onto the incident surface is φ. When the laser beam is incident at this incident angle φ, the reflected light from the surface of the substrate and the reflected light from the back surface of the substrate do not interfere with each other, and uniform laser beam irradiation can be performed.
In the above formula, the refractive index of the substrate was calculated as 1. In general, the refractive index of a glass substrate is around 1.5, and when calculated in consideration thereof, the minimum value of φ is slightly larger, but the energy density at the end of the beam is lower than that at the center. Even within the range of the equation, the effect of reducing interference can be sufficiently obtained.

  As the substrate, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a silicon substrate, a plastic substrate, a metal substrate, a stainless steel substrate, a flexible substrate, or the like can be used. Examples of the glass substrate include a substrate made of glass such as barium borosilicate glass or alumino borosilicate glass. The flexible substrate is a film-like substrate made of PET, PES, PEN, acrylic, or the like. If a semiconductor device is manufactured using the flexible substrate, weight reduction is expected. If a barrier layer such as an aluminum film (AlON, AlN, AlO, etc.), a carbon film (DLC (Diamond Like Carbon), etc.), SiN or the like is formed as a single layer or a multilayer on the surface of the flexible substrate, or the front and back surfaces It is desirable because durability is improved. Needless to say, the above formula is established only when the substrate is transparent to laser light.

  In the configuration of the above invention, the length W of the short side is defined as θ, a divergence angle of a laser beam emitted from the laser, M, a magnification of a beam expander that expands the laser beam, and the laser beam. Can be approximately written as W = fθ / M, where f is the focal length of the lens that focuses light in the short side direction on the irradiation surface, but when W is 50 μm or less, the laser beam irradiation time is shortened. It is preferable because it is possible. That is, it is preferable that W = fθ / M ≦ 50 μm.

  In addition, in the configuration of the invention relating to the laser irradiation method disclosed in this specification, the laser beam is processed into a long beam at or near the irradiation surface, and the irradiation surface is first in the first direction with respect to the long beam. A laser irradiation method in which irradiation is performed while relatively moving at an incident angle, wherein an angle formed between the laser beam forming the first incident angle and the moving direction is always constant.

  Another aspect of the invention relating to the laser irradiation method disclosed in this specification is a laser irradiation method in which a laser beam is processed into a long beam at or near the irradiation surface, and is irradiated with the laser beam. Irradiation is performed while relatively moving the irradiation surface in a first direction at a first incident angle, and the irradiation surface is second incident in a second direction opposite to the first direction with respect to the long beam. The laser beam incident at the first incident angle and the laser beam incident at the second incident angle are mirror images in a plane perpendicular to the first direction. It is characterized by being in a relationship.

  Another aspect of the invention relating to the laser irradiation method disclosed in this specification is a laser irradiation method in which a laser beam is processed into a long beam at or near the irradiation surface, and is irradiated with the laser beam. Irradiation is performed while relatively moving the irradiation surface at a first incident angle in a first direction parallel to the minor axis direction of the long beam, and the irradiation surface is opposite to the first direction with respect to the long beam. The laser beam incident at the first incident angle and the laser beam incident at the second incident angle are irradiated while being relatively moved at a second incident angle in the second direction. In a plane perpendicular to the first direction, it is characterized by a mirror image relationship.

In the structure of the invention, the laser is a gas laser, a solid-state laser, or a metal vapor laser. Examples of the gas laser include an Ar laser, a Kr laser, an XeF excimer laser, a KrF excimer laser, an ArF excimer laser, an F ₂ excimer laser, and a CO ₂ laser. The solid laser includes a YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, There are YalO ₃ laser, glass laser, ruby laser, alexandrite laser, Ti: sapphire laser and the like, and examples of the metal laser include helium cadmium laser, copper vapor laser, and gold vapor laser. The present invention is particularly desirable when applied to a continuous wave laser.

  In the configuration of the above invention, the laser beam is converted into a harmonic by a nonlinear optical element. Crystals used in the nonlinear optical element are excellent in terms of conversion efficiency when, for example, LBO, BBO, KDP, KTP, KB5, and CLBO are used. By introducing these nonlinear optical elements into the laser resonator, the conversion efficiency can be greatly increased. The harmonic laser is generally doped with Nd, Yb, Cr, etc., and this is excited to oscillate the laser.

In the configuration of the above invention, it is preferable that the laser beam be oscillated by TEM ₀₀ because the energy uniformity of the obtained long beam can be increased.

In the configuration of the invention described above, when a plane that is a plane perpendicular to the irradiation surface and includes a short side when the long beam shape is regarded as a rectangle is defined as an incident surface, the incident angle of the laser beam φ is φ ≧ arctan (W / 2d) when the length of the short side is W, the thickness of the substrate that is placed on the irradiation surface and is transparent to the laser beam is d
It is characterized by satisfying. When the locus of the laser beam is not on the incident surface, the incident angle of the projection of the locus onto the incident surface is φ. When the laser beam is incident at this incident angle φ, the reflected light from the surface of the substrate and the reflected light from the back surface of the substrate do not interfere with each other, and uniform laser beam irradiation can be performed.
In the above formula, the refractive index of the substrate was calculated as 1. In general, the refractive index of a glass substrate is around 1.5, and when calculated in consideration thereof, the minimum value of φ is slightly larger, but the energy density at the end of the beam is lower than that at the center. Even within the range of the equation, the effect of reducing interference can be sufficiently obtained.

  As the substrate, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a silicon substrate, a plastic substrate, a metal substrate, a stainless steel substrate, a flexible substrate, or the like can be used. Needless to say, the above formula is established only when the substrate is transparent to laser light.

  In the configuration of the invention described above, the length W of the short side is such that the spread angle of the laser beam is θ, the magnification of a beam expander for expanding the laser beam is M, and the laser beam is irradiated on the irradiation surface. When the focal length of the lens condensing in the short side direction is f, it can be written approximately as W = fθ / M. However, it is preferable that W is 50 μm or less because the irradiation time of the laser beam can be shortened. That is, it is preferable that W = fθ / M ≦ 50 μm.

  In addition, in the structure of the invention relating to the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device disclosed in this specification, a laser beam is processed into a long beam on or in the vicinity of the semiconductor film, and the semiconductor film is moved in the first direction with respect to the long beam. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device in which irradiation is performed while relatively moving at a first incident angle to crystallize the semiconductor film, wherein the laser beam incident at the first incident angle and the moving direction are formed. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that the angle is always constant.

  In addition, another structure of the invention relating to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device disclosed in this specification is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device in which a laser beam is processed into a long beam on or near a semiconductor film and irradiated. The semiconductor film is irradiated to the long beam while relatively moving at a first incident angle in the first direction, and the semiconductor film is irradiated to the long beam in a second direction opposite to the first direction. Irradiating the semiconductor film with relative movement at a second incident angle to crystallize the semiconductor film, and the laser beam incident at the first incident angle and the laser beam incident at the second incident angle; Are mirror images in a plane perpendicular to the first direction.

  Further, another structure of the invention relating to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device disclosed in this specification is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device in which a laser beam is processed into a long beam on or near the semiconductor film and irradiated. The semiconductor film is irradiated to the long beam while moving the semiconductor film relatively at a first incident angle in a first direction parallel to the minor axis direction of the long beam, and the semiconductor film is irradiated to the long beam. Irradiating while moving relatively at a second incident angle in a second direction opposite to one direction, the semiconductor film is crystallized, and the laser beam incident at the first incident angle and the second The laser beam incident at an incident angle is in a mirror image relation in a plane perpendicular to the first direction.

In the structure of the invention, the laser is a gas laser, a solid-state laser, or a metal vapor laser. Examples of the gas laser include an Ar laser, a Kr laser, an XeF excimer laser, a KrF excimer laser, an ArF excimer laser, an F ₂ excimer laser, and a CO ₂ laser. The solid laser includes a YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, There are YalO ₃ laser, glass laser, ruby laser, alexandrite laser, Ti: sapphire laser and the like, and examples of the metal laser include helium cadmium laser, copper vapor laser, and gold vapor laser. The present invention is particularly desirable when applied to a continuous wave laser.

  In each configuration of the invention described above, the laser beam is converted into a harmonic by a non-linear optical element. Crystals used in the nonlinear optical element are excellent in terms of conversion efficiency when, for example, LBO, BBO, KDP, KTP, KB5, and CLBO are used. By introducing these nonlinear optical elements into the laser resonator, the conversion efficiency can be greatly increased. The harmonic laser is generally doped with Nd, Yb, Cr, etc., and this is excited to oscillate the laser.

In each configuration of the invention described above, it is preferable that the laser beam be oscillated by TEM ₀₀ because the energy uniformity of the obtained long beam can be increased.

Further, in each configuration of the invention described above, when a plane that is a plane perpendicular to the semiconductor film and includes a short side when the long beam is regarded as a rectangle is defined as an incident plane, The incident angle φ is such that the length of the short side is W (referred to as a short diameter in this specification), the semiconductor film is formed, and the substrate has a light-transmitting property with respect to the laser beam. Φ ≧ arctan (W / 2d) when the thickness is d
It is characterized by satisfying. When the locus of the laser beam is not on the incident surface, the incident angle of the projection of the locus onto the incident surface is φ. When the laser beam is incident at this incident angle φ, the reflected light from the surface of the substrate and the reflected light from the back surface of the substrate do not interfere with each other, and uniform laser beam irradiation can be performed.
In the above formula, the refractive index of the substrate was calculated as 1. In general, the refractive index of a glass substrate is around 1.5, and when calculated in consideration thereof, the minimum value of φ is slightly larger, but the energy density at the end of the beam is lower than that at the center. Even within the range of the equation, the effect of reducing interference can be sufficiently obtained.

  As the substrate, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a silicon substrate, a plastic substrate, a metal substrate, a stainless steel substrate, a flexible substrate, or the like can be used. Needless to say, the above formula is established only when the substrate is transparent to laser light.

  Further, in each configuration of the invention, the length W of the short side is defined by θ as a divergence angle of the laser beam, M as an expansion ratio of a beam expander that expands the laser beam, and the laser beam as the semiconductor film. When the focal length of the lens condensing in the short side direction on the surface is f, it can be written approximately as W = fθ / M. However, if W is 50 μm or less, it is preferable because the irradiation time of the laser beam can be shortened. . That is, it is preferable that W = fθ / M ≦ 50 μm.

  When the laser beam is incident on the semiconductor film at an incident angle satisfying the expression indicated by the present invention, and the incident angle of the laser beam is changed alternately depending on the direction of the scanning direction of the semiconductor film with respect to the laser beam, There is no difference in irradiation, and more uniform laser irradiation can be performed. The present invention is particularly suitable for crystallization of semiconductor films, improvement of crystallinity, and activation of impurity elements. In addition, since uniform laser irradiation can be performed regardless of the direction of the scanning direction, throughput can be improved. In a semiconductor device typified by an active matrix liquid crystal display device using the present invention, the operating characteristics and reliability of the semiconductor device can be improved. Furthermore, the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor device can be reduced.

By adopting the configuration of the present invention, the following basic significance can be obtained.
(A) When the laser beam is incident on the semiconductor film at an incident angle satisfying the expression indicated by the present invention, and the incident angle of the laser beam is changed alternately depending on the direction of the scanning direction of the semiconductor film with respect to the laser beam, the scanning direction This eliminates the difference in laser irradiation due to the above, and enables more uniform laser irradiation. Since the incident angle is not set to 0 °, interference of the laser beam on the semiconductor film surface can be suppressed, so that a semiconductor film with uniform characteristics can be obtained.
(B) It is possible to uniformly anneal the irradiated object. In particular, it is suitable for crystallization of semiconductor films, improvement of crystallinity, and activation of impurity elements.
(C) The throughput can be improved.
(D) In a semiconductor device typified by an active matrix liquid crystal display device, the operating characteristics and reliability of the semiconductor device can be improved while satisfying the above advantages. Furthermore, the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor device can be reduced.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, an example in which an elliptical beam 106 is formed and irradiated onto the semiconductor film surface 105 is shown.

First, an LD-pumped 10 W laser oscillator 101 (Nd: YVO ₄ laser, CW, second harmonic) is prepared. The laser oscillator is an oscillation mode of TEM00, and an LBO crystal is built in the resonator and converted into the second harmonic. The beam diameter is 2.25mm. The divergence angle is about 0.3 mrad. The traveling direction of the laser beam is converted in the vertical direction by a 45 ° reflection mirror. Next, in order to make the major axis of the elliptical beam about 500 μm at the semiconductor film surface 105, the laser beam is vertically incident on the cylindrical lens 103 having a focal length of 150 mm. Further, a cylindrical lens 104 having a focal length of 20 mm is disposed at a position 100 mm below the cylindrical lens 103.
The length of the minor axis of the elliptical beam 106 is controlled by the cylindrical lens 104. Theoretically, in this system, the minor axis W is about 6 μm. In order to set the length of the minor axis to a desired length, an optical system may be assembled according to the above formula. For example, when a beam is expanded using a beam expander with a magnification of M, it is possible to obtain a narrower short diameter (length of 1 / M compared to the case where no beam expander is used).
In order to increase the depth of focus, the laser beam focused by the cylindrical lens 104 is arranged so that the beam waist comes to the semiconductor film surface 105. The buses of the cylindrical lenses 103 and 104 are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other. In the cylindrical lens 104, as shown in FIG. 4, the incident position of the laser beam is set to a position translated in the direction in which the cylindrical lens 104 has a curvature. As a result, the traveling direction of the laser beam changes, and the incident angle of the laser beam with respect to the semiconductor film surface 105 becomes φ (≠ 0 °).

The substrate on which the semiconductor film is formed is a glass substrate having a thickness d, and is fixed to the suction stage 107 so that the substrate does not fall during laser irradiation. The suction stage 107 can be moved in the XY direction on a plane parallel to the semiconductor film surface 105 by the uniaxial robot 108 for the X axis and the uniaxial robot 109 for the Y axis. The conditional expression that does not cause the interference is φ ≧ arctan (W / 2d). Therefore, for example, when a substrate having a thickness of 0.7 mm is used, φ ≧ 0.24 °.
Actually, the minor axis of the elliptical beam becomes thicker than the theoretical value due to the accuracy of the lens, so it is safer to take a slightly larger value for φ. For example, if an elliptical beam having a minor axis of about 50 μm is formed easily, φ ≧ 2.0 ° is obtained by applying the above equation.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor film is described. The semiconductor film is formed on a glass substrate that is transparent to visible light. Specifically, a 200 nm thick silicon oxynitride film is formed on one surface of a 0.7 mm thick glass substrate, and a 150 nm thick a-Si film is formed thereon by a plasma CVD method. Further, in order to increase the resistance of the semiconductor film to the laser, thermal annealing at 500 ° C. for 1 hour was performed on the semiconductor film. In addition to the thermal annealing, the semiconductor film may be crystallized with a metal element described in the section of the prior art. Regardless of which film is used, the optimum laser beam irradiation conditions are almost the same.

Next, an example of laser irradiation on the semiconductor film will be described. The output of the laser oscillator 101 is about 10 W at maximum, but since the size of the elliptical beam 106 is relatively small, the energy density is sufficient, and irradiation is performed with the output reduced to about 5.5 W. By scanning the substrate on which the semiconductor film is formed in the minor axis direction of the elliptical beam 106 using the Y-axis robot 109, a single crystal extending long in the scanning direction in the major axis direction and the width of 100 μm of the elliptical beam 106 is obtained. Can be formed in a state where the grains are spread. Hereinafter, the region is referred to as a long crystal grain region. At this time, the incident angle of the laser beam is set to 2 ° or more with a margin. As a result, interference is suppressed, so that more uniform laser irradiation is possible. The major axis of the elliptical beam is about 500 μm, but since it is a TEM00 mode laser beam, the energy distribution is Gaussian, and the long crystal grain region is formed only near the center of Gaussian. The scanning speed is suitably about several tens of cm / s to several hundreds of cm / s, and here it is set to 50 cm / s.

  FIG. 6 shows an irradiation method in which the entire surface of the semiconductor film is a long crystal grain region. In order to facilitate identification, the same reference numerals in FIG. The substrate on which the semiconductor film is formed is fixed to the suction stage 107, and the laser oscillator 101 is oscillated. The output is 5.5 W. First, the Y-axis robot 109 scans one surface of the semiconductor film at a scanning speed of 50 cm / s. The one line corresponds to the portion A1 in FIG. In FIG. 6, the Y-axis robot irradiates the portion of the forward path Am (m is a positive integer) with laser, and then the X-axis robot 108 slides the elliptical beam in the major axis direction by the width of the long crystal grain region. Then, laser irradiation is performed on the part of the return path Bm. At this time, since the incident angle φ of the laser beam with respect to the semiconductor film surface is not 0 °, the forward path and the backward path cannot be irradiated under the same conditions. Therefore, when moving from the forward path Am to the return path Bm, the position of the cylindrical lens 104 is translated as shown in a) to b) of FIG. 4 so that the irradiation conditions of the forward path and the return path are the same. That is, the inner product of the unit vector in the incident direction of the laser beam with respect to the substrate and the unit vector in the operation direction of the substrate is made constant. Although not shown, this operation is automatically performed using a drive mechanism for parallel movement. By repeating such a series of operations, the entire surface of the semiconductor film can be made a long crystal grain region. It should be noted that the characteristics of the semiconductor film in the long crystal grain region are very high, and particularly when a semiconductor element such as a TFT is manufactured, it can be expected to show extremely high electric mobility, but the semiconductor film does not require such a high characteristic. It is not necessary to form a long grain region in this part. Therefore, laser irradiation may be performed so that such a portion is not irradiated with a laser beam or a long crystal grain region is not formed.

In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is implemented using another method will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, an example in which an elliptical beam 7006 is formed and the semiconductor film surface 7005 is irradiated is shown.

First, an LD-pumped 10 W laser oscillator 7001 (Nd: YVO ₄ laser, CW, second harmonic) is prepared. The laser oscillator is an oscillation mode of TEM00, and an LBO crystal is built in the resonator and converted into the second harmonic. The beam diameter is 2.25mm. The divergence angle is about 0.3 mrad. The traveling direction of the laser beam is converted into a direction shifted by several degrees from the vertical direction by a 45 ° reflection mirror 7002 to which a rotation mechanism (not shown) is attached. Next, a laser beam is incident on a plano-convex cylindrical lens 7003 having a focal length of 150 mm so that the major axis of the elliptical beam is about 500 μm at the semiconductor film surface 7005. At this time, the plane portion of the planoconvex cylindrical lens 7003 and the horizontal plane are kept parallel. The angle of several degrees is set on a plane including the generatrix of the cylindrical lens 7003 and the vertical direction. Further, a plano-convex cylindrical lens 7004 having a focal length of 20 mm is disposed at a position 100 mm below the cylindrical lens 7003. At this time, the plane portion of the planoconvex cylindrical lens 7004 and the horizontal plane are kept parallel. The length of the minor axis of the elliptical beam 7006 is controlled by the cylindrical lens 7004. Theoretically, in this system, the minor axis W is about 6 μm. In order to increase the depth of focus, the laser beam condensed by the cylindrical lens 7004 is arranged so that the beam waist comes to the semiconductor film surface 7005. The generating lines of the cylindrical lenses 7003 and 7004 are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other. In the cylindrical lens 7004, the incident position of the laser beam is set to the center position of the cylindrical lens 7004 as shown in FIG. Since the traveling direction of the laser beam is deviated from the vertical direction by the 45 ° reflection mirror 7002, the incident angle of the laser beam with respect to the semiconductor film surface 7005 becomes φ (≠ 0 °).

A substrate on which a semiconductor film to be placed on the suction stage 7007 is formed is described in the manufacturing method in the embodiment mode. Therefore, the incident angle φ may be at least about 2 °. Various conditions for laser irradiation may be performed in the same manner as those described in the embodiment.

  FIG. 8 shows an irradiation method in which the entire surface of the semiconductor film is a long crystal grain region. In order to facilitate identification, the same reference numerals in FIG. 7 are used as in FIG. The substrate on which the semiconductor film is formed is fixed to the suction stage 7007, and the laser oscillator 7001 is oscillated. The output is 5.5 W. First, the Y-axis robot 7009 scans one surface of the semiconductor film at a scanning speed of 50 cm / s. The one line corresponds to a portion A1 in FIG. In FIG. 8, the Y-axis robot irradiates the portion of the forward path Am (m is a positive integer) with laser, and then the X-axis robot 7008 slides the elliptical beam in the major axis direction by the width of the long crystal grain region. And laser irradiation is performed on the part of the return path Bm. At this time, since the incident angle φ of the laser beam with respect to the semiconductor film surface is not 0 °, the forward path and the backward path cannot be irradiated under the same conditions. Therefore, when moving from the forward path Am to the return path Bm so that the irradiation conditions of the forward path and the return path are the same, the angle of the 45 ° reflection mirror 7002 is changed, and the position of the cylindrical lens 7004 is changed to a) in FIG. To translate as shown in b). Although not shown, this operation is automatically performed using a drive mechanism for parallel movement. By repeating such a series of operations, the entire surface of the semiconductor film can be made a long crystal grain region. It should be noted that the characteristics of the semiconductor film in the long crystal grain region are very high, and particularly when a semiconductor element such as a TFT is manufactured, it can be expected to show extremely high electric mobility, but the semiconductor film does not require such a high characteristic. It is not necessary to form a long grain region in this part. Therefore, laser irradiation may be performed at such an energy density that does not irradiate such a portion with a laser beam or form a long crystal grain region.

  In this embodiment, the state of interference recorded in the semiconductor film when the incident angle φ is 0 ° in the optical system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Irradiation conditions were the same as those shown in the embodiment of the present invention, and only the scanning speed was two conditions of 50 cm / s and 75 cm / s. FIG. 2a) is a photograph, with the upper half irradiated at 75 cm / s and the lower half irradiated at 50 cm / s. As shown in the embodiment of the present invention, when the entire surface of the semiconductor film was uniformly irradiated with the elliptical beam, the wood-tone interference fringes were clearly recorded on the semiconductor film. Figure 2b) is a picture with the interference fringes highlighted. In FIG. 2, the scanning speed of the elliptical beam is different between the upper half and the lower half, but the appearance of the interference fringes is the same regardless of which scanning speed is applied.

The cause of the interference fringes is that the semiconductor film has a light-transmitting property, and the semiconductor film is heated using a laser having a light-transmitting property to the substrate on which the semiconductor film is formed. . Since the semiconductor film is thinner than the wavelength of the laser beam used, the reflected light from the surface of the semiconductor film and the reflected light at the interface between the semiconductor film and the insulating film formed between the semiconductor film and the glass substrate Interference is unlikely to occur. However, interference between the reflected light on the surface of the semiconductor film and the reflected light on the back surface of the substrate may occur sufficiently. The interference fringes seen in FIG. 2 are caused by this.
The pattern is irregular because the distortion of the substrate is irregular. If the substrate is shaped like a dish, the pattern should be a concentric pattern. This pattern is closely related to the characteristics of the semiconductor film. From such experimental results, irradiation with a laser beam at an incident angle of 0 ° leads to generation of a semiconductor film having a non-uniform characteristic distribution. Therefore, it is an important technique for obtaining a semiconductor film having uniform characteristics to make a laser beam incident at a certain non-zero incident angle φ.

  In the present embodiment, the difference between the forward path and the backward path recorded on the semiconductor film when the incident angle φ is several degrees and the position of the cylindrical lens 104 is fixed in the optical system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. To do.

  Irradiation conditions are the same as those shown in the embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 3a) is a photograph of an a-Si film irradiated at the scanning speed of 50 cm / s. In the figure, the left side is the outbound path and the right side is the inbound path. The scanning direction is the vertical direction of the photo. The thick line region seen in the center of the photo is the long crystal grain region, and the thin side appears on both sides is the polycrystalline region where the crystal grains with a small aspect ratio are gathered. There is a microcrystalline region. The difference between these regions is formed because the laser beam has an energy distribution close to a Gaussian distribution. There is a clear difference in the width of the long grain region between the forward path and the return path. This is particularly inconvenient when the regularly arranged semiconductor elements are irradiated with laser by such an irradiation method. Since the outside of the long crystal grain region shows different characteristics from the long crystal grain region, such a difference between the forward path and the return path is not preferable when it is important to obtain a uniform semiconductor element that is regularly arranged. This occurs because the incident angle φ is not 0 and the relationship between the forward path and the return path is not a mirror image.

  FIG. 3b) shows a photograph of the p-Si film irradiated at the scanning speed of 100 cm / s. The scanning direction is the vertical direction of the photograph, the left side of the photograph is the forward path, and the right is the backward path. The p-Si film is crystallized by heat using nickel metal, but the a-Si film The situation is clearly different from that irradiated. This is a difference caused by the difference in light absorption coefficient between the a-Si film and the p-Si film, but it is presumed that the presence or absence of metal elements is also involved. In the photograph, the laser irradiation is performed without any problem in the forward path, but in the return path, many lines enter in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, and crystal defects are formed there. Such a defect is not preferable in a semiconductor element because it causes variations in element characteristics and causes a leakage current. As described above, even when the p-Si film is scanned with the CW laser and the laser irradiation is performed, there is a difference between the forward path and the backward path.

  In the scanning, the cause of the difference between the forward path and the backward path is the difference in the incident angle of the laser beam. Therefore, even if the substrate does not have translucency with respect to the laser beam, the effect of the present invention is as follows. Get out. However, if the substrate is not translucent, interference fringes cannot be formed, so that the incident angle is allowed to be 0 °. Therefore, in this case, the present invention may not be applied. However, in a semiconductor film crystallization process using a laser, since glass that is transparent to visible light is mainly used as a substrate, The use of this process with the incident angle of the laser beam being 0 ° will be limited.

  In this embodiment, a method for manufacturing an active matrix substrate will be described with reference to FIGS. In this specification, a substrate in which a pixel portion having a CMOS circuit, a driver circuit, a pixel TFT, and a storage capacitor is formed over the same substrate is referred to as an active matrix substrate for convenience.

  First, in this embodiment, a substrate 400 made of glass such as barium borosilicate glass or alumino borosilicate glass is used. Note that the substrate 400 may be a quartz substrate, a silicon substrate, a metal substrate, or a stainless substrate on which an insulating film is formed. Further, a plastic substrate having heat resistance that can withstand the processing temperature of this embodiment may be used, or a flexible substrate may be used. In the present invention, since a linear beam having the same energy distribution can be easily formed, a large area substrate can be efficiently annealed by a plurality of linear beams.

  Next, a base film 401 made of an insulating film such as a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, or a silicon oxynitride film is formed over the substrate 400 by a known means. Although a two-layer structure is used as the base film 401 in this embodiment, a single-layer film of the insulating film or a structure in which two or more layers are stacked may be used.

Next, a semiconductor film is formed over the base film. The semiconductor film is formed with a thickness of 25 to 200 nm (preferably 30 to 150 nm) by a known means (sputtering method, LPCVD method, plasma CVD method, etc.), and is crystallized by a laser crystallization method. In the laser crystallization method, the semiconductor film is irradiated with laser light by any one of the embodiment mode and the first embodiment, or any combination of these embodiments. The laser used is preferably a continuous wave solid state laser, a gas laser or a metal laser.
Examples of the solid-state laser include a continuous wave YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, a YAlO ₃ laser, a glass laser, a ruby laser, an alexandrite laser, a Ti: sapphire laser, and the gas laser includes a continuous wave Ar. There are a laser, a Kr laser, a CO ₂ laser, and the like, and examples of the metal laser include a continuous wave helium cadmium laser, a copper vapor laser, and a gold vapor laser. A continuous light excimer laser can also be applied. The laser beam may be converted into a harmonic by a nonlinear optical element. Crystals used in the nonlinear optical element are excellent in terms of conversion efficiency when, for example, LBO, BBO, KDP, KTP, KB5, and CLBO are used. By introducing these nonlinear optical elements into the laser resonator, the conversion efficiency can be greatly increased. The harmonic laser is generally doped with Nd, Yb, Cr, etc., and this is excited to oscillate the laser. The practitioner may select the type of dopant as appropriate. Of course, not only the laser crystallization method but also other known crystallization methods (thermal crystallization method using an RTA or furnace annealing furnace, thermal crystallization method using a metal element that promotes crystallization, etc.) You may go. Examples of the semiconductor film include an amorphous semiconductor film, a microcrystalline semiconductor film, a crystalline semiconductor film, and the like, and a compound semiconductor film having an amorphous structure such as an amorphous silicon germanium film or an amorphous silicon carbide film. May be applied.

In this embodiment, a plasma CVD method is used to form a 50 nm amorphous silicon film, and a thermal crystallization method and a laser crystallization method using a metal element that promotes crystallization on the amorphous silicon film. Do. Nickel is used as the metal element and is introduced onto the amorphous silicon film by a solution coating method, and then a heat treatment is performed at 550 ° C. for 5 hours to obtain a first crystalline silicon film. A laser beam emitted from a continuous-wave Nd: YVO ₄ laser having an output of 10 W is converted into a second harmonic by a non-linear optical element, and then a second crystalline silicon film is obtained according to the first embodiment. By irradiating the first crystalline silicon film with a laser beam to form a second crystalline silicon film, the crystallinity is improved. At this time, the energy density of approximately 0.01 to 100 MW / cm ² (preferably 0.1 to 10 MW / cm ²⁾ is required. Then, irradiation is performed by moving the stage relative to the laser beam at a speed of about 0.5 to 2000 cm / s to form a crystalline silicon film. As shown in FIG. 3, a uniform and good crystalline semiconductor film is formed near the center of the laser beam, but crystalline semiconductor films having different characteristics are formed at both ends thereof. In order not to form the semiconductor element at such a position, the substrate may be positioned in advance and a desired region may be irradiated with a laser beam. When a TFT is manufactured using the second crystalline silicon film, the mobility is remarkably improved to about 500 to 660 cm ² / Vs.

  Semiconductor layers 402 to 406 are formed by patterning the crystalline semiconductor film thus obtained using a photolithography method.

  Further, after forming the semiconductor layers 402 to 406, a small amount of impurity element (boron or phosphorus) may be doped in order to control the threshold value of the TFT.

  Next, a gate insulating film 407 covering the semiconductor layers 402 to 406 is formed. The gate insulating film 407 is formed of an insulating film containing silicon with a thickness of 40 to 150 nm by plasma CVD or sputtering. In this embodiment, a silicon oxynitride film is formed with a thickness of 110 nm by plasma CVD. Of course, the gate insulating film is not limited to the silicon oxynitride film, and another insulating film may be used as a single layer or a laminated structure.

When a silicon oxide film is used, TEOS (Tetraethyl Orthosilicate) and O ₂ are mixed by a plasma CVD method to a reaction pressure of 40 Pa, a substrate temperature of 300 to 400 ° C., and a high frequency (13.56 MHz) power density of 0. It can be formed by discharging at 5 to 0.8 W / cm ² . The silicon oxide film thus manufactured can obtain good characteristics as a gate insulating film by thermal annealing at 400 to 500 ° C. thereafter.

Next, a first conductive film 408 with a thickness of 20 to 100 nm and a second conductive film 409 with a thickness of 100 to 400 nm are stacked over the gate insulating film 407. In this embodiment, a first conductive film 408 made of a TaN film with a thickness of 30 nm and a second conductive film 409 made of a W film with a thickness of 370 nm are stacked. The TaN film is formed by sputtering, and is sputtered in a nitrogen-containing atmosphere using a Ta target. The W film was formed by sputtering using a W target. In addition, it can be formed by a thermal CVD method using tungsten hexafluoride (WF ₆ ). In any case, in order to use as a gate electrode, it is necessary to reduce the resistance, and the resistivity of the W film is desirably 20 μΩcm or less.

  In this embodiment, the first conductive film 408 is TaN and the second conductive film 409 is W. However, there is no particular limitation, and all are Ta, W, Ti, Mo, Al, Cu, Cr, Nd. You may form with the element selected from these, or the alloy material or compound material which has the said element as a main component. Alternatively, a semiconductor film typified by a polycrystalline silicon film doped with an impurity element such as phosphorus may be used. Further, an AgPdCu alloy may be used.

Next, resist masks 410 to 415 are formed by photolithography, and a first etching process is performed to form electrodes and wirings. The first etching process is performed under the first and second etching conditions. (FIG. 9 (B)) In this example, ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) etching method is used as the first etching condition, and CF ₄ , Cl ₂ and O ₂ are used as etching gases. Each gas flow ratio is 25:25:10 (sccm), 500 W of RF (13.56 MHz) power is applied to the coil-type electrode at a pressure of 1 Pa, plasma is generated, and etching is performed. 150 W RF (13.56 MHz) power is also applied to the substrate side (sample stage), and a substantially negative self-bias voltage is applied. The W film is etched under this first etching condition so that the end portion of the first conductive layer is tapered.

Thereafter, the masks 410 to 415 made of resist are changed to the second etching conditions without being removed, CF ₄ and Cl ₂ are used as etching gases, and the respective gas flow ratios are set to 30:30 (sccm). Etching is performed for about 30 seconds by applying 500 W RF (13.56 MHz) power to the coil-type electrode at a pressure of 1 Pa to generate plasma. 20 W of RF (13.56 MHz) power is also applied to the substrate side (sample stage), and a substantially negative self-bias voltage is applied. Under the second etching condition in which CF ₄ and Cl ₂ are mixed, the W film and the TaN film are etched to the same extent. Note that in order to perform etching without leaving a residue on the gate insulating film, it is preferable to increase the etching time at a rate of about 10 to 20%.

  In the first etching process, the shape of the mask made of resist is made suitable, and the end portions of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are tapered due to the effect of the bias voltage applied to the substrate side. It becomes. The angle of this taper portion is 15 to 45 °. Thus, the first shape conductive layers 417 to 422 (the first conductive layers 417 a to 422 a and the second conductive layers 417 b to 422 b) composed of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer by the first etching treatment. Form. Reference numeral 416 denotes a gate insulating film, and a region not covered with the first shape conductive layers 417 to 422 is etched and thinned by about 20 to 50 nm.

Next, a second etching process is performed without removing the resist mask.
Here, CF ₄ , Cl _2, and O ₂ are used as etching gases, and the W film is selectively etched. At this time, second conductive layers 428b to 433b are formed by a second etching process. On the other hand, the first conductive layers 417a to 422a are hardly etched, and the second shape conductive layers 428 to 433 are formed.

Then, a first doping process is performed without removing the resist mask, and an impurity element imparting n-type conductivity is added to the semiconductor layer at a low concentration. The doping process may be performed by ion doping or ion implantation. The conditions of the ion doping method are a dose amount of 1 × 10 ^{13 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁴ / cm ² and an acceleration voltage of 40 to 80 keV. In this embodiment, the dose is set to 1.5 × 10 ¹³ / cm ² and the acceleration voltage is set to 60 keV. As an impurity element imparting n-type, an element belonging to Group 15, typically phosphorus (P) or arsenic (As), is used here, but phosphorus (P) is used. In this case, the conductive layers 428 to 433 serve as a mask for the impurity element imparting n-type, and the impurity regions 423 to 427 are formed in a self-aligning manner. An impurity element imparting n-type conductivity is added to the impurity regions 423 to 427 in a concentration range of 1 × 10 ¹⁸ to 1 × 10 ²⁰ / cm ³ .

After removing the resist mask, new resist masks 434a to 434c are formed, and the second doping process is performed at an acceleration voltage higher than that of the first doping process. The conditions of the ion doping method are a dose amount of 1 × 10 ¹³ to 1 × 10 ¹⁵ / cm ² and an acceleration voltage of 60 to 120 keV. In the doping treatment, the second conductive layers 428b to 432b are used as masks against the impurity element, and doping is performed so that the impurity element is added to the semiconductor layer below the tapered portion of the first conductive layer. Subsequently, the third doping process is performed by lowering the acceleration voltage than the second doping process to obtain the state of FIG. The conditions of the ion doping method are a dose amount of 1 × 10 ¹⁵ to 1 × 10 ¹⁷ / cm ² and an acceleration voltage of 50 to 100 keV. By the second doping process and the third doping process, the low-concentration impurity regions 436, 442, and 448 overlapping with the first conductive layer have n-type conductivity in a concentration range of 1 × 10 ^{18 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁹ / cm ^3. An impurity element imparting is added, and an impurity element imparting n-type is added to the high-concentration impurity regions 435, 441, 444, and 447 in a concentration range of 1 × 10 ^{19 to} 5 × 10 ²¹ / cm ³ .

Needless to say, by setting the acceleration voltage to be appropriate, the second and third doping processes can be performed in a single doping process to form the low-concentration impurity region and the high-concentration impurity region.

Next, after removing the resist mask, new resist masks 450a to 450c are formed, and a fourth doping process is performed. By this fourth doping treatment, impurity regions 453, 454, 459, and 460 in which an impurity element imparting a conductivity type opposite to the one conductivity type is added to the semiconductor layer that becomes the active layer of the p-channel TFT are formed. To do. The second conductive layers 429a and 432a are used as masks against the impurity element, and an impurity element imparting p-type is added to form an impurity region in a self-aligning manner. In this embodiment, the impurity regions 453, 454, 459, and 460 are formed by ion doping using diborane (B ₂ H ₆ ). (FIG. 10B) In the fourth doping process, the semiconductor layer forming the n-channel TFT is covered with masks 450a to 450c made of resist. By the first to third doping treatments, phosphorus is added to the impurity regions 439, 447, and 448 at different concentrations. In any of these regions, the concentration of the impurity element imparting p-type is 1 × 10 ^19. By performing the doping treatment so as to be ˜5 × 10 ²¹ atoms / cm ³ , no problem arises because it functions as the source region and drain region of the p-channel TFT.

  Through the above steps, impurity regions are formed in the respective semiconductor layers.

  Next, the resist masks 450 a to 450 c are removed, and a first interlayer insulating film 461 is formed. The first interlayer insulating film 461 is formed of an insulating film containing silicon with a thickness of 100 to 200 nm using a plasma CVD method or a sputtering method. In this embodiment, a silicon oxynitride film having a thickness of 150 nm is formed by a plasma CVD method. Needless to say, the first interlayer insulating film 461 is not limited to the silicon oxynitride film, and another insulating film containing silicon may be used as a single layer or a stacked structure.

  Next, laser beam irradiation is performed to restore the crystallinity of the semiconductor layers and to activate the impurity elements added to the respective semiconductor layers. Laser activation is performed by irradiating a semiconductor film with a laser beam by any one of the embodiment mode and the first embodiment, by freely combining these embodiments, or by other methods. When the present invention is used in this step, as shown in FIG. 3, a uniform and good crystalline semiconductor film is formed near the center of the laser beam, but crystalline semiconductor films having different characteristics are formed at both ends. It is formed. In order not to form the semiconductor element at such a position, the substrate may be positioned in advance and a desired region may be irradiated with a laser beam.

The laser used is preferably a continuous wave or pulsed solid laser, a gas laser, or a metal laser. Examples of the solid-state laser include a continuous wave or pulsed YAG laser, YVO ₄ laser, YLF laser, YAlO ₃ laser, glass laser, ruby laser, alexandrite laser, Ti: sapphire laser, and the gas laser is continuous. There are oscillating or pulsed excimer lasers, Ar lasers, Kr lasers, CO ₂ lasers, and the like, and examples of the metal laser include a continuous oscillating or pulsed helium cadmium laser, a copper vapor laser, and a gold vapor laser. A continuous light excimer laser can also be applied. The laser beam may be converted into a harmonic by a nonlinear optical element. Crystals used in the nonlinear optical element are excellent in terms of conversion efficiency when, for example, LBO, BBO, KDP, KTP, KB5, and CLBO are used. By introducing these nonlinear optical elements into the laser resonator, the conversion efficiency can be greatly increased. The harmonic laser is generally doped with Nd, Yb, Cr, etc., and this is excited to oscillate the laser. The practitioner may select the type of dopant as appropriate. At this time, if using a continuous wave laser, the energy density of the laser beam is about 0.01 to 100 MW / cm ² (preferably 0.01~10MW / cm ²⁾ is required, with respect to the laser beam The substrate is relatively moved at a speed of 0.5 to 2000 cm / s. If a pulsed laser is used, the laser energy density is preferably 50 to 1000 mJ / cm ² (typically 50 to 500 mJ / cm ² ). At this time, the laser beams may be overlapped by 50 to 98%. In addition to the laser annealing method, a thermal annealing method, a rapid thermal annealing method (RTA method), or the like can be applied.

  In addition, activation may be performed before forming the first interlayer insulating film. However, when the wiring material used is weak against heat, it is activated after an interlayer insulating film (insulating film containing silicon as a main component, for example, a silicon nitride film) is formed to protect the wiring as in this embodiment. It is preferable to perform the conversion treatment.

  Then, hydrogenation can be performed by heat treatment (heat treatment at 300 to 550 ° C. for 1 to 12 hours). This step is a step of terminating dangling bonds in the semiconductor layer with hydrogen contained in the first interlayer insulating film 461. The semiconductor layer can be hydrogenated regardless of the presence of the first interlayer insulating film. As other means for hydrogenation, plasma hydrogenation (using hydrogen excited by plasma) or heat treatment at 300 to 450 ° C. for 1 to 12 hours in an atmosphere containing 3 to 100% hydrogen may be performed. .

  Next, a second interlayer insulating film 462 made of an inorganic insulating film material or an organic insulating material is formed over the first interlayer insulating film 461. In this embodiment, an acrylic resin film having a thickness of 1.6 μm is formed, but a film having a viscosity of 10 to 1000 cp, preferably 40 to 200 cp, and having a surface with unevenness is used.

  In this embodiment, in order to prevent specular reflection, the surface of the pixel electrode is formed with the unevenness by forming the second interlayer insulating film having the unevenness on the surface. In addition, a convex portion may be formed in a region below the pixel electrode in order to make the surface of the pixel electrode uneven to achieve light scattering. In that case, since the convex portion can be formed using the same photomask as that of the TFT, it can be formed without increasing the number of steps. In addition, this convex part should just be suitably provided on the board | substrate of pixel part area | regions other than wiring and a TFT part. Thus, irregularities are formed on the surface of the pixel electrode along the irregularities formed on the surface of the insulating film covering the convex portions.

  Alternatively, a film whose surface is planarized may be used as the second interlayer insulating film 462. In that case, after forming the pixel electrode, adding a step such as a known sandblasting method or etching method to make the surface uneven, prevent specular reflection, and increase the whiteness by scattering the reflected light Is preferred.

In the driver circuit 506, wirings 463 to 468 that are electrically connected to the impurity regions are formed. Note that these wirings are formed by patterning a laminated film of a Ti film having a thickness of 50 nm and an alloy film (alloy film of Al and Ti) having a thickness of 500 nm. Of course, not only a two-layer structure but also a single-layer structure or a laminated structure of three or more layers may be used. Further, the wiring material is not limited to Al and Ti.
For example, a wiring may be formed by patterning a laminated film in which Al or Cu is formed on a TaN film and a Ti film is further formed. (Fig. 11)

  In the pixel portion 507, a pixel electrode 470, a gate wiring 469, and a connection electrode 468 are formed. With this connection electrode 468, the source wiring (stacked layer of 443a and 443b) is electrically connected to the pixel TFT. In addition, the gate wiring 469 is electrically connected to the gate electrode of the pixel TFT. In addition, the pixel electrode 470 is electrically connected to the drain region 442 of the pixel TFT and further electrically connected to the semiconductor layer 458 functioning as one electrode forming a storage capacitor. Further, as the pixel electrode 470, it is desirable to use a highly reflective material such as a film containing Al or Ag as a main component or a laminated film thereof.

  As described above, a CMOS circuit including an n-channel TFT 501 and a p-channel TFT 502, a driver circuit 506 having an n-channel TFT 503, and a pixel portion 507 having a pixel TFT 504 and a storage capacitor 505 are formed over the same substrate. can do. Thus, the active matrix substrate is completed.

The n-channel TFT 501 of the driver circuit 506 includes a channel formation region 437, a low-concentration impurity region 436 (GOLD region) that overlaps with the first conductive layer 428a that forms part of the gate electrode, and a high-concentration function as a source region or a drain region. An impurity region 452 is provided. The p-channel TFT 502 which is connected to the n-channel TFT 501 and the electrode 466 to form a CMOS circuit includes a channel formation region 440, a high-concentration impurity region 453 functioning as a source region or a drain region, and an impurity element imparting p-type conductivity Has an impurity region 454 into which is introduced. Further, the n-channel TFT 503 includes a channel formation region 443 and a low-concentration impurity region 442 (GOLD region) which overlaps with the first conductive layer 430a which forms part of the gate electrode.
And a high concentration impurity region 456 functioning as a source region or a drain region.

  The pixel TFT 504 in the pixel portion includes a channel formation region 446, a low concentration impurity region 445 (LDD region) formed outside the gate electrode, and a high concentration impurity region 458 functioning as a source region or a drain region. In addition, an impurity element imparting n-type conductivity and an impurity element imparting p-type conductivity are added to the semiconductor layer functioning as one electrode of the storage capacitor 505. The storage capacitor 505 is formed of an electrode (stack of 432a and 432b) and a semiconductor layer using the insulating film 416 as a dielectric.

In the pixel structure of this embodiment, the end portions of the pixel electrodes are arranged and formed so as to overlap the source wiring so that the gap between the pixel electrodes is shielded from light without using a black matrix.

  FIG. 12 shows a top view of a pixel portion of an active matrix substrate manufactured in this embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is used for the part corresponding to FIGS. 9-12. A chain line A-A ′ in FIG. 11 corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along the chain line A-A ′ in FIG. 12. Further, a chain line B-B ′ in FIG. 11 corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along the chain line B-B ′ in FIG. 12.

  In this embodiment, a process of manufacturing a reflective liquid crystal display device from the active matrix substrate manufactured in Embodiment 4 will be described below. FIG. 13 is used for the description.

  First, after obtaining the active matrix substrate in the state of FIG. 11 according to Example 4, an alignment film 567 is formed on at least the pixel electrode 470 on the active matrix substrate of FIG. In this embodiment, before forming the alignment film 567, an organic resin film such as an acrylic resin film is patterned to form columnar spacers 572 for maintaining a substrate interval at a desired position. Further, instead of the columnar spacers, spherical spacers may be scattered over the entire surface of the substrate.

  Next, a counter substrate 569 is prepared. Next, colored layers 570 and 571 and a planarization film 573 are formed over the counter substrate 569. The red colored layer 570 and the blue colored layer 571 are overlapped to form a light shielding portion. Further, the light shielding portion may be formed by partially overlapping the red colored layer and the green colored layer.

  In this example, the substrate shown in Example 4 is used. Therefore, in FIG. 12, which shows a top view of the pixel portion of Example 4, at least the gap between the gate wiring 469 and the pixel electrode 470, the gap between the gate wiring 469 and the connection electrode 468, and the gap between the connection electrode 468 and the pixel electrode 470 are shown. It is necessary to shield the light. In this example, the respective colored layers were arranged so that the light-shielding portions formed by the lamination of the colored layers overlapped at the positions where light shielding should be performed, and the counter substrate was bonded.

  As described above, the number of steps can be reduced by shielding the gap between the pixels with the light shielding portion formed by the lamination of the colored layers without forming a light shielding layer such as a black mask.

  Next, a counter electrode 576 made of a transparent conductive film was formed over the planarization film 573 in at least the pixel portion, an alignment film 574 was formed over the entire surface of the counter substrate, and a rubbing process was performed.

  Then, the active matrix substrate on which the pixel portion and the driver circuit are formed and the counter substrate are attached to each other with a sealant 568. A filler is mixed in the sealing material 568, and two substrates are bonded to each other with a uniform interval by the filler and the columnar spacer. Thereafter, a liquid crystal material 575 is injected between both substrates and completely sealed with a sealant (not shown). A known liquid crystal material may be used for the liquid crystal material 575. In this way, the reflection type liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 13 is completed. If necessary, the active matrix substrate or the counter substrate is divided into a desired shape. Further, a polarizing plate (not shown) was attached only to the counter substrate. And FPC was affixed using the well-known technique.

  The liquid crystal display device manufactured as described above has a TFT manufactured using a semiconductor film uniformly annealed by a laser beam having a sufficient energy density. Sex can be sufficient. And such a liquid crystal display device can be used as a display part of various electronic devices.

Note that this embodiment can be freely combined with Embodiments 1 to 4.

In this embodiment, an example in which a light-emitting device is manufactured using the method for manufacturing a TFT when manufacturing an active matrix substrate shown in Embodiment 4 will be described. In this specification, the light emitting device is a general term for a display panel in which a light emitting element formed on a substrate is sealed between the substrate and a cover material, and a display module including a TFT in the display panel. is there. Note that the light-emitting element is a layer (light-emitting layer) containing an organic compound that can obtain luminescence (Electro Luminescence) generated by applying an electric field.
And an anode layer and a cathode layer. In addition, luminescence in an organic compound includes light emission (fluorescence) when returning from a singlet excited state to a ground state and light emission (phosphorescence) when returning from a triplet excited state to a ground state, one of these, Or both luminescence is included.

  In the present specification, all layers formed between the anode and the cathode in the light emitting element are defined as organic light emitting layers. Specifically, the organic light emitting layer includes a light emitting layer, a hole injection layer, an electron injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer, and the like. Basically, a light emitting element has a structure in which an anode layer, a light emitting layer, and a cathode layer are sequentially laminated. In addition to this structure, an anode layer, a hole injection layer, a light emitting layer, a cathode layer, and an anode layer , A hole injection layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, a cathode layer and the like may be laminated in this order.

  FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the light emitting device of this example. In FIG. 14, a switching TFT 603 provided over a substrate 700 is formed using the n-channel TFT 503 in FIG. Therefore, the description of the n-channel TFT 503 may be referred to for the description of the structure.

  Note that although a double gate structure in which two channel formation regions are formed is used in this embodiment, a single gate structure in which one channel formation region is formed or a triple gate structure in which three channel formation regions are formed may be used.

  A driver circuit provided over the substrate 700 is formed using the CMOS circuit of FIG. Therefore, for the description of the structure, the description of the n-channel TFT 501 and the p-channel TFT 502 may be referred to. In this embodiment, a single gate structure is used, but a double gate structure or a triple gate structure may be used.

  Further, the wirings 701 and 703 function as source wirings of the CMOS circuit, and the wiring 702 functions as a drain wiring. The wiring 704 functions as a wiring that electrically connects the source wiring 708 and the source region of the switching TFT, and the wiring 705 functions as a wiring that electrically connects the drain wiring 709 and the drain region of the switching TFT.

  Note that the current control TFT 604 is formed using the p-channel TFT 502 of FIG. Accordingly, the description of the p-channel TFT 502 may be referred to for the description of the structure. In this embodiment, a single gate structure is used, but a double gate structure or a triple gate structure may be used.

  A wiring 706 is a source wiring (corresponding to a current supply line) of the current control TFT, and 707 is an electrode that is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 711 by being overlaid on the pixel electrode 711 of the current control TFT.

  Reference numeral 711 denotes a pixel electrode (anode of the light emitting element) made of a transparent conductive film. As the transparent conductive film, a compound of indium oxide and tin oxide, a compound of indium oxide and zinc oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, or indium oxide can be used. Moreover, you may use what added the gallium to the said transparent conductive film. The pixel electrode 711 is formed on the flat interlayer insulating film 710 before forming the wiring. In this embodiment, it is very important to flatten the step due to the TFT using the flattening film 710 made of resin. Since the light emitting layer formed later is very thin, the presence of a step may cause a light emission failure. Therefore, it is desirable to planarize the pixel electrode before forming it so that the light emitting layer can be formed as flat as possible.

After the wirings 701 to 707 are formed, a bank 712 is formed as shown in FIG.
The bank 712 may be formed by patterning an insulating film or organic resin film containing silicon of 100 to 400 nm.

Note that since the bank 712 is an insulating film, attention must be paid to electrostatic breakdown of elements during film formation. In this embodiment, carbon particles or metal particles are added to the insulating film that is the material of the bank 712 to reduce the resistivity and suppress the generation of static electricity. At this time, the addition amount of carbon particles or metal particles may be adjusted so that the resistivity is 1 × 10 ⁶ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ωm (preferably 1 × 10 ⁸ to 1 × 10 ¹⁰ Ωm).

A light emitting layer 713 is formed on the pixel electrode 711. Although only one pixel is shown in FIG. 14, in this embodiment, light emitting layers corresponding to each color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are separately formed. In this embodiment, a low molecular weight organic light emitting material is formed by a vapor deposition method. Specifically, a laminated structure in which a copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) film having a thickness of 20 nm is provided as a hole injection layer and a tris-8-quinolinolato aluminum complex (Alq ₃ ) film having a thickness of 70 nm is provided thereon as a light emitting layer. It is said.
The emission color can be controlled by adding a fluorescent dye such as quinacridone, perylene, or DCM1 to Alq ₃ .

  However, the above example is an example of an organic light emitting material that can be used as a light emitting layer, and it is not absolutely necessary to limit to this. A light emitting layer (a layer for emitting light and moving carriers therefor) may be formed by freely combining a light emitting layer, a charge transport layer, or a charge injection layer. For example, in this embodiment, an example in which a low molecular weight organic light emitting material is used as the light emitting layer is shown, but a medium molecular weight organic light emitting material or a high molecular weight organic light emitting material may be used. Note that in this specification, an organic light-emitting material that does not have sublimation and has 20 or less molecules or a chain molecule length of 10 μm or less is referred to as a medium molecular organic light-emitting material. As an example of using a polymer organic light emitting material, a 20 nm polythiophene (PEDOT) film is provided by a spin coating method as a hole injection layer, and a paraphenylene vinylene (PPV) film of about 100 nm is provided thereon as a light emitting layer. Alternatively, a laminated structure may be used. If a PPV π-conjugated polymer is used, the emission wavelength can be selected from red to blue. It is also possible to use an inorganic material such as silicon carbide for the charge transport layer or the charge injection layer. Known materials can be used for these organic light emitting materials and inorganic materials.

  Next, a cathode 714 made of a conductive film is provided on the light emitting layer 713. In this embodiment, an alloy film of aluminum and lithium is used as the conductive film. Of course, a known MgAg film (magnesium and silver alloy film) may be used. As the cathode material, a conductive film made of an element belonging to Group 1 or Group 2 of the periodic table or a conductive film added with these elements may be used.

  When the cathode 714 is formed, the light emitting element 715 is completed. Note that the light-emitting element 715 here refers to a diode formed of a pixel electrode (anode) 711, a light-emitting layer 713, and a cathode 714.

  It is effective to provide a passivation film 716 so as to completely cover the light emitting element 715. As the passivation film 716, an insulating film including a carbon film, a silicon nitride film, or a silicon nitride oxide film is used, and the insulating film is used as a single layer or a combination thereof.

At this time, it is preferable to use a film with good coverage as the passivation film, and it is effective to use a carbon film, particularly a DLC film. Since the DLC film can be formed in a temperature range from room temperature to 100 ° C., it can be easily formed over the light-emitting layer 713 having low heat resistance. In addition, the DLC film has a high blocking effect against oxygen and can suppress oxidation of the light-emitting layer 713. Therefore, the problem that the light emitting layer 713 is oxidized during the subsequent sealing process can be prevented.

  Further, a sealing material 717 is provided over the passivation film 716 and a cover material 718 is attached thereto. As the sealing material 717, an ultraviolet curable resin may be used, and it is effective to provide a substance having a hygroscopic effect or a substance having an antioxidant effect inside. In this embodiment, the cover member 718 is formed by forming a carbon film (preferably a DLC film) on both surfaces of a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a plastic substrate (including a plastic film), or a flexible substrate. In addition to the carbon film, an aluminum film (AlON, AlN, AlO, etc.), SiN, or the like can be used.

  Thus, a light emitting device having a structure as shown in FIG. 14 is completed. Note that it is effective to continuously process the steps from the formation of the bank 712 to the formation of the passivation film 716 using a multi-chamber type (or in-line type) film formation apparatus without releasing to the atmosphere. . Further, it is possible to continuously process the process up to the step of bonding the cover material 718 without releasing to the atmosphere.

  Thus, n-channel TFTs 601 and 602, a switching TFT (n-channel TFT) 603 and a current control TFT (n-channel TFT) 604 are formed on the substrate 700.

  Furthermore, as described with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B, an n-channel TFT which is resistant to deterioration due to the hot carrier effect can be formed by providing an impurity region overlapping with the gate electrode through an insulating film. Therefore, a highly reliable light emitting device can be realized.

  Further, in this embodiment, only the configuration of the pixel portion and the drive circuit is shown. However, according to the manufacturing process of this embodiment, other logic circuits such as a signal dividing circuit, a D / A converter, an operational amplifier, and a γ correction circuit are provided. Can be formed on the same insulator, and a memory and a microprocessor can also be formed.

  The light emitting device manufactured as described above has a TFT manufactured using a semiconductor film uniformly annealed by laser light having sufficient energy density, and the operating characteristics and reliability of the light emitting device are improved. It can be enough. And such a light-emitting device can be used as a display part of various electronic devices.

Note that this embodiment can be freely combined with Embodiments 1 to 4.

  By applying the present invention, various semiconductor devices (active matrix liquid crystal display device, active matrix light emitting device, active matrix EC display device) can be manufactured. That is, the present invention can be applied to various electronic devices in which these electro-optical devices are incorporated in a display unit.

  Such electronic devices include video cameras, digital cameras, projectors, head-mounted displays (goggles type displays), car navigation systems, car stereos, personal computers, personal digital assistants (mobile computers, mobile phones, electronic books, etc.), etc. Can be mentioned. Examples thereof are shown in FIGS. 15, 16 and 17.

  FIG. 15A shows a personal computer, which includes a main body 3001, an image input portion 3002, a display portion 3003, a keyboard 3004, and the like. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 3003, the personal computer of the present invention is completed.

  FIG. 15B illustrates a video camera, which includes a main body 3101, a display portion 3102, an audio input portion 3103, operation switches 3104, a battery 3105, an image receiving portion 3106, and the like. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 3102, the video camera of the present invention is completed.

  FIG. 15C illustrates a mobile computer, which includes a main body 3201, a camera portion 3202, an image receiving portion 3203, operation switches 3204, a display portion 3205, and the like. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 3205, the mobile computer of the present invention is completed.

FIG. 15D illustrates a goggle-type display, which includes a main body 3301, a display portion 3302, an arm portion 3303, and the like. The display portion 3302 uses a flexible substrate as a substrate, and the goggle type display is manufactured by curving the display portion 3302.
It also realizes a lightweight and thin goggle type display. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 3302, the goggle type display of the present invention is completed.

FIG. 15E shows a player using a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a recording medium) on which a program is recorded, and includes a main body 3401, a display portion 3402, a speaker portion 3403, a recording medium 3404, an operation switch 3405, and the like. This player uses a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), CD, or the like as a recording medium, and can perform music appreciation, movie appreciation, games, and the Internet.
By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 3402, the recording medium of the present invention is completed.

  FIG. 15F illustrates a digital camera, which includes a main body 3501, a display portion 3502, an eyepiece portion 3503, an operation switch 3504, an image receiving portion (not shown), and the like. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 3502, the digital camera of the present invention is completed.

  FIG. 16A illustrates a front type projector, which includes a projection device 3601, a screen 3602, and the like. The front type projector of the present invention is completed by applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the liquid crystal display device 3808 constituting a part of the projection device 3601 and other driving circuits.

  FIG. 16B shows a rear projector, which includes a main body 3701, a projection device 3702, a mirror 3703, a screen 3704, and the like. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the liquid crystal display device 3808 constituting a part of the projection device 3702 and other driving circuits, the rear projector of the present invention is completed.

  Note that FIG. 16C is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the projection devices 3601 and 3702 in FIGS. 16A and 16B. The projection devices 3601 and 3702 include a light source optical system 3801, mirrors 3802 and 3804 to 3806, a dichroic mirror 3803, a prism 3807, a liquid crystal display device 3808, a phase difference plate 3809, and a projection optical system 3810. The projection optical system 3810 is composed of an optical system including a projection lens. Although the present embodiment shows an example of a three-plate type, it is not particularly limited, and for example, a single-plate type may be used. Further, the practitioner may appropriately provide an optical system such as an optical lens, a film having a polarization function, a film for adjusting a phase difference, an IR film, or the like in the optical path indicated by an arrow in FIG. Good.

  FIG. 16D illustrates an example of the structure of the light source optical system 3801 in FIG. In this embodiment, the light source optical system 3801 includes a reflector 3811, a light source 3812, lens arrays 3813 and 3814, a polarization conversion element 3815, and a condenser lens 3816. Note that the light source optical system illustrated in FIG. 16D is an example and is not particularly limited. For example, the practitioner may appropriately provide an optical system such as an optical lens, a film having a polarization function, a film for adjusting a phase difference, or an IR film in the light source optical system.

  However, the projector shown in FIG. 16 shows a case where a transmissive electro-optical device is used, and an application example in a reflective electro-optical device and a light-emitting device is not shown.

  FIG. 17A illustrates a mobile phone, which includes a main body 3901, an audio output portion 3902, an audio input portion 3903, a display portion 3904, operation switches 3905, an antenna 3906, and the like. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 3904, the cellular phone of the present invention is completed.

  FIG. 17B illustrates a portable book (electronic book), which includes a main body 4001, display portions 4002 and 4003, a storage medium 4004, operation switches 4005, an antenna 4006, and the like. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portions 4002 and 4003, the portable book of the present invention is completed. The present invention can be produced in the same size as a paperback book, and is highly useful.

  FIG. 17C illustrates a display, which includes a main body 4101, a support base 4102, a display portion 4103, and the like. The display portion 4103 is manufactured using a flexible substrate, and a lightweight and thin display can be realized. In addition, the display portion 4103 can be curved. By applying the semiconductor device manufactured according to the present invention to the display portion 4103, the display of the present invention is completed. The display of the present invention is particularly advantageous when the screen is enlarged, and is advantageous for displays having a diagonal of 10 inches or more (particularly 30 inches or more).

  As described above, the application range of the present invention is extremely wide and can be applied to electronic devices in various fields. Moreover, the electronic device of a present Example is realizable even if it uses the structure which consists of a combination of Example 1-5 or 6.

The figure explaining embodiment of invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of interference recorded in a semiconductor film for explaining Example 2; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a difference between a forward path and a backward path in a scanning direction of a CW laser, which explains Example 3; The figure which shows the example of a laser irradiation apparatus. The figure which shows the example of a laser irradiation apparatus. The figure which shows the mode of laser annealing. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating Example 1; The figure which shows the mode of laser annealing. Sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing process of TFT of a pixel TFT and a driver circuit. Sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing process of TFT of a pixel TFT and a driver circuit. Sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing process of TFT of a pixel TFT and a driver circuit. FIG. 6 is a top view illustrating a configuration of a pixel TFT. Sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing process of an active-matrix liquid crystal display device. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional structure diagram of a driver circuit and a pixel portion of a light emitting device. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a semiconductor device. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a semiconductor device. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a semiconductor device.

Claims (34)

Laser,
Means for processing a laser beam emitted from the laser into an elliptical or rectangular beam at or near the irradiation surface;
Means for moving the irradiation surface relative to the laser beam;
A laser irradiation apparatus comprising: means for making a constant inner product of a unit vector in a moving direction of the irradiation surface and a unit vector in an incident direction of the laser beam with respect to the irradiation surface. 2. The irradiation surface according to claim 1, wherein a film is provided on the irradiation surface, the film is formed on a substrate having a thickness d that is transparent to the laser beam, and has a short diameter of the elliptical or rectangular beam. When the length is W, the incident angle φ of the laser beam with respect to the irradiation surface is
φ ≧ arctan (W / 2d)
The laser irradiation apparatus characterized by satisfy | filling.   3. The film according to claim 1, wherein a film formed on a substrate that is transparent to the laser beam is provided on the irradiation surface, and the reflected light on the surface of the film and the back surface of the substrate A laser irradiation apparatus characterized in that the reflected light does not interfere with the laser beam.   4. The laser irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of a minor axis of the elliptical or rectangular beam is 50 μm or less. 5.   5. The laser irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is a gas laser, a solid-state laser, or a metal laser. 5. The laser beam according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is an Ar laser, a Kr laser, a XeF excimer laser, a KrF excimer laser, an ArF excimer laser, an F ₂ excimer laser, or a CO ₂ laser. Laser irradiation device. 5. The laser beam according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is a YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, a YAlO ₃ laser, a glass laser, a ruby laser, an alexandrite laser, or a Ti: sapphire laser. Laser irradiation device.   5. The laser irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is a helium cadmium laser, a copper vapor laser, or a gold vapor laser.   The laser irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is continuous wave.   The laser irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam is a harmonic. Laser beam is processed into an elliptical or rectangular beam near the irradiation surface and irradiated.
Irradiating while moving the irradiation surface relative to the elliptical or rectangular beam at an incident angle φ (≠ 0),
The laser irradiation method, wherein an inner product of a unit vector in the moving direction of the irradiation surface and a unit vector in the incident direction in irradiation at the incident angle is constant. Laser beam is processed into an elliptical or rectangular beam near the irradiation surface and irradiated.
Irradiating while moving the irradiation surface relative to the elliptical or rectangular beam at a first incident angle φ (≠ 0) in a first direction,
Irradiating the elliptical or rectangular beam while moving the irradiation surface relatively at a second incident angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction,
The inner product of the unit vector in the first direction and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the first incident angle, and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the second direction unit vector and the second incident angle. A laser irradiation method characterized in that the inner products of are equal. Laser beam is processed into an elliptical or rectangular beam near the irradiation surface and irradiated.
Irradiation is performed while moving the irradiation surface relative to the elliptical or rectangular beam at a first incident angle φ (≠ 0) in a first direction parallel to the minor axis direction of the elliptical or rectangular beam. And
Irradiating the elliptical or rectangular beam while moving the irradiation surface relatively at a second incident angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction,
The inner product of the unit vector in the first direction and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the first incident angle, and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the second direction unit vector and the second incident angle. A laser irradiation method characterized in that the inner products of are equal. 14. The film according to claim 12 or 13, wherein a film is provided on the irradiation surface, the film is formed on a substrate having a thickness d that is transparent to the laser beam, and the short surface of the elliptical or rectangular beam. When the length of the diameter is W, the first incident angle φ is
φ ≧ arctan (W / 2d)
The laser irradiation method characterized by satisfy | filling.   In any one of Claims 11 thru | or 14, the film formed on the board | substrate which has a translucency with respect to the said laser beam is installed in the said irradiation surface, The reflected light in the surface of the said film | membrane, A laser irradiation method, wherein the reflected light on the back surface of the substrate does not interfere.   16. The laser irradiation method according to claim 11, wherein a length of a minor axis of the elliptical or rectangular beam is 50 μm or less.   17. The laser irradiation method according to claim 11, wherein a gas laser, a solid-state laser, or a metal laser is used as the laser beam. 17. The laser beam according to claim 11, wherein an Ar laser, a Kr laser, a XeF excimer laser, a KrF excimer laser, an ArF excimer laser, an F ₂ excimer laser, or a CO ₂ laser is used as the laser beam. Laser irradiation method. 17. The laser beam according to claim 11, wherein a YAG laser, a YVO ₄ laser, a YLF laser, a YAlO ₃ laser, a glass laser, a ruby laser, an alexandrite laser, or a Ti: sapphire laser is used as the laser beam. Laser irradiation method to do.   17. The laser irradiation method according to claim 11, wherein a helium cadmium laser, a copper vapor laser, or a gold vapor laser is used as the laser beam.   21. The laser irradiation method according to claim 11, wherein the laser beam is continuous wave.   The laser irradiation method according to claim 11, wherein the laser beam is a harmonic. Processing the laser beam into an elliptical or rectangular beam near the semiconductor film,
Irradiating while moving the semiconductor film relative to the elliptical or rectangular beam at an incident angle φ (≠ 0),
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein an inner product of a unit vector in a moving direction of the semiconductor film and a unit vector in an incident direction in irradiation at the incident angle is constant. Processing the laser beam into an elliptical or rectangular beam near the semiconductor film,
Irradiating while moving the semiconductor film relative to the elliptical or rectangular beam in a first direction at a first incident angle φ (≠ 0),
Irradiating the semiconductor film with respect to the elliptical or rectangular beam while moving the semiconductor film in a second direction opposite to the first direction at a second incident angle to crystallize the semiconductor film;
The inner product of the unit vector in the first direction and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the first incident angle, and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the second direction unit vector and the second incident angle. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein inner products of Processing the laser beam into an elliptical or rectangular beam near the semiconductor film,
Irradiating the semiconductor film while moving the semiconductor film relative to the elliptical or rectangular beam in a first direction parallel to the minor axis direction of the elliptical or rectangular beam at a first incident angle φ (≠ 0). And
Irradiating the semiconductor film with respect to the elliptical or rectangular beam while moving the semiconductor film in a second direction opposite to the first direction at a second incident angle to crystallize the semiconductor film;
The inner product of the unit vector in the first direction and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the first incident angle, and the unit vector in the incident direction in the irradiation at the second direction unit vector and the second incident angle. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein inner products of The semiconductor film according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the semiconductor film is formed on a substrate having a thickness d that is transparent to the laser beam, and the length of the minor axis of the elliptical or rectangular beam is W. The first incident angle φ is
φ ≧ arctan (W / 2d)
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein:   27. The semiconductor film according to claim 23, wherein the semiconductor film is a film formed over a substrate having a light-transmitting property with respect to the laser beam. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein reflected light from a back surface does not interfere.   28. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein a length of a minor axis of the elliptical or rectangular beam is 50 [mu] m or less.   29. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein a gas laser, a solid-state laser, or a metal laser is used as the laser beam. In any one of claims 23 to 28, as the laser beam, and wherein Ar laser, Kr laser, XeF excimer laser, KrF excimer laser, ArF excimer laser, the use of _{F 2} excimer laser or CO ₂ laser, A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. 29. The laser beam according to claim 23, wherein a YAG laser, YVO ₄ laser, YLF laser, YAlO ₃ laser, glass laser, ruby laser, alexandrite laser, or Ti: sapphire laser is used as the laser beam. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.   29. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein a helium cadmium laser, a copper vapor laser, or a gold vapor laser is used as the laser beam.   33. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein the laser beam is continuous wave.   34. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein the laser beam is a harmonic.

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