JP2008311249A - Laser processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To favorably form a gas atmosphere of a laser irradiation portion to a workpiece in a laser processing apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The laser processing apparatus irradiates, while relatively scanning, the workpiece (amorphous semiconductor thin film 10) with a laser beam 3 to perform processing of the workpiece. The laser processing apparatus includes a gas injection section (laser beam irradiating port-gas injecting port 8) for injecting a gas forming the irradiation atmosphere in the vicinity of a laser beam irradiation portion of the workpiece, and straightening planes (straightening plates 7a, 7b) extending from near the gas injection portion along the scanning direction with a surface of the workpiece at a certain distance. A gas atmosphere can be formed over a wide range along the scanning direction, which makes the gas atmosphere at the time of irradiating the laser beam favorite to make the laser processing such as annealing favorite. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus that performs processing such as crystallization by irradiating a target object such as an amorphous semiconductor thin film with laser light.

  Conventionally, in an amorphous silicon film crystallization apparatus using a laser, in order to remove the influence of the atmosphere and control the optimum atmosphere for crystallization, irradiation is performed instead of introducing a processing gas after evacuating the processing chamber once. The following method is known as a method for controlling only the atmosphere.

(A) Nitrogen gas injection means for injecting nitrogen gas to make only the vicinity of the laser irradiation portion a nitrogen atmosphere is provided, and the nitrogen gas injection means is provided in a slit through which laser light passes and a peripheral portion of the slit A laser annealing treatment apparatus comprising: a plate-like nozzle having a plurality of nitrogen gas ejection ports formed and labyrinth seal portions provided around the plurality of nitrogen gas ejection ports (see Patent Document 1).
(B) In a polycrystalline semiconductor film manufacturing apparatus that crystallizes an amorphous semiconductor film formed on an insulating substrate by a laser beam annealing method, beam irradiation is performed when the amorphous semiconductor film is irradiated with a laser beam. An apparatus for producing a polycrystalline semiconductor film, comprising a local shield capable of controlling the atmosphere of the surface of a substrate to be formed around a laser beam (see Patent Document 2).
JP 2000-349041 A JP 2002-93738 A

In the above-described conventional apparatus, the amorphous silicon substrate is moved together with the sample stage with respect to the laser beam to enable scanning of the laser beam, thereby enabling processing in an arbitrary region of the amorphous silicon.
For this reason, in the above-mentioned prior art (a), since the upper part of the substrate is in contact with the atmosphere at the pre-irradiation position before the sample stage is moved, the atmosphere is likely to be mixed in the irradiation surface immediately after the sample stage is moved. The gas flows near the swing nozzle or slit and is replaced with the target atmosphere, but oxygen in the atmosphere is partially mixed in the irradiation surface, and the oxygen concentration distribution uniformity in the irradiation surface immediately after moving the sample stage is There is a problem that it is not secured.

Similarly, in the prior art (b), the position before irradiation outside the lower surface of the local shield is the atmospheric atmosphere, and immediately after moving to the irradiation position, oxygen in the atmosphere is partially mixed in the irradiation surface, and the sample There is a problem that the uniformity of the oxygen concentration distribution in the irradiation surface immediately after moving the table is not ensured.
As a common problem, there is a problem that there is no means for confirming the gas flow rate distribution itself in the vicinity of the irradiation position, and even if the distribution is disturbed by a disturbance, it is not managed.

  In these conventional apparatuses, since the sample stage has substantially the same external dimensions as the substrate, when processing the edge of the substrate, the gas flow differs between the inside and the outside. On the outside, since it is opened up and down, there is a problem that gas is diffused early and the shielding effect is diminished, and oxygen tends to flow into the atmosphere.

  The present invention has been made against the background of the above circumstances, and by generating a gas atmosphere from the vicinity of the laser light irradiation section to the surrounding scanning direction, it is possible to appropriately secure the atmosphere and perform good laser processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a laser processing apparatus.

  That is, the invention of the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 is a laser processing apparatus that performs processing of the object to be processed by irradiating the object to be processed while relatively scanning the laser beam. A gas injection unit that injects in the vicinity of the laser light irradiation portion of the object to be processed, and a rectifying surface that extends from the vicinity of the gas injection unit while maintaining a distance from the surface of the object to be processed along the scanning direction are provided. It is characterized by that.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the gas irradiated from the gas injection unit flows from the vicinity of the laser beam irradiation unit to the surroundings, the upward flow is prevented by the rectifying surface and along the surface direction of the object to be processed. Therefore, the gas atmosphere can be formed over a wide range on the lower side of the rectifying surface. As a result, when the object to be processed and the laser beam are scanned relatively, a gas atmosphere is formed at an early stage in the scanning direction, and when the laser beam irradiation is reached, the oxygen concentration is sufficiently reduced with respect to the irradiated surface. The treatment can be performed in a good gas atmosphere. Moreover, the gas flow rate required for stabilizing the atmosphere on the irradiation surface in the conventional apparatus can be reduced. At the same time, the waiting time required for stabilization can be shortened.
Further, since the gas atmosphere is formed over a wide range, the maximum scanning speed can be increased.

The distance between the rectifying surface and the object to be processed is set to an appropriate distance in consideration of gas injection pressure and the like because the rectifying effect is reduced when the distance is too large and the ventilation resistance is increased when the distance is too small. Usually, the clearance is preferably about 1 to 10 mm.
The rectifying surface can be formed by installing a rectifying plate or the like, but is not limited to a plate shape, and can be formed by arranging a block-like member or the like. The rectifying surface is preferably continuous with the gas injection unit and continuously extended. However, the rectifying surface does not necessarily have to be connected to the gas injection unit or does not have to be extended continuously. What is arranged may be sufficient.

  Note that the relative scanning of the object to be processed and the laser beam only needs to move the irradiation position. There is no particular limitation as to which of the object to be processed and the laser beam moves, and both of them move. There may be. Usually, the laser beam can be scanned by moving a sample stage on which the object to be processed is placed.

  Further, the type of gas forming the atmosphere is not particularly limited in the present invention, but usually an inert gas such as nitrogen is used. As the gas injection unit that irradiates the gas toward the vicinity of the laser beam irradiation unit, an injection port formed in a shape surrounding the laser beam can be usually used.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the laser processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the rectifying surface extends forward and backward in the scanning direction.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, by providing the rectifying surface on the rear side in the scanning direction, the laser-treated portion can be kept in the gas atmosphere for a while, and the physical property change after the laser irradiation can be maintained. It can progress well.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the laser processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the rectifying surface extends in the scanning direction to a position where the required movement time in the scanning is 10 seconds or more. It is characterized by.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the surface of the object to be processed is placed in a gas atmosphere for at least 10 seconds before or after the irradiation of the laser beam, so that oxygen in the vicinity of the surface of the object to be processed is sufficiently and reliably obtained. Eliminate and improve laser processing. The travel time required is preferably 15 seconds or longer, and more preferably 20 seconds or longer.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a laser processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the laser beam is relative to the object to be processed on a sample stage having substantially the same outer dimension as the object to be processed. In a laser processing apparatus for performing processing of the object to be processed while being scanned, a gas injection unit for injecting a gas forming an irradiation atmosphere in the vicinity of an irradiated part of the object to be processed, and an end in the scanning direction of the sample stage And an end straightening surface that extends along the scanning direction.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the end rectification surface is provided on the sample stage at the end in the scanning direction, the gas injected from the gas injection unit spreads while being diffused downward on the end rectification surface. Therefore, a gas atmosphere can be formed on the outer side of the sample stage end similarly to the inner side of the sample stage end, and inflow of air or the like from the outside to the atmosphere can be prevented.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the laser processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the end rectifying surface has substantially the same height as the upper surface of the object to be processed placed on the sample stage. Features.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the same gas flow as that at the inside of the sample stage end is generated, and the atmosphere at the inside of the end and the outside of the end can be maintained equally. If the end rectifying surface is made slightly higher than the upper surface of the object to be processed, an effect of surrounding the upper surface of the object to be processed from the outside can be obtained in addition to the above-described action, and the gas atmosphere can be more reliably formed.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the laser processing apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the sub-direction end rectification extends along the orthogonal direction to the sample stage end in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. A surface is provided.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the same action as that of the end rectification surface can be obtained by the sub-direction end rectification surface even in the process of changing the scanning direction by rotating the sample stage.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is the laser processing apparatus according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, wherein the rectifying surface according to any one of the first to third aspects is provided.

  According to invention of Claim 7, while the effect | action by the said rectification | straightening surface and an edge part rectification | straightening surface is obtained, when the said rectification | straightening surface and an edge part rectification | straightening surface face, a flat ventilation path is formed and an up-down direction is formed. Since gas diffusion is prevented, the gas atmosphere can be more reliably and rapidly formed.

  An invention of a laser processing apparatus according to an eighth aspect is the invention according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the laser light has a line beam shape.

  The invention of a laser processing apparatus according to claim 9 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the processing of the object to be processed is performed by applying the laser beam to the object to be processed comprising an amorphous semiconductor thin film. It is characterized by an annealing treatment for crystallization by irradiation.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the laser processing apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, further comprising an oxygen concentration meter that measures the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, by measuring the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, it is possible to easily grasp and manage whether or not the atmosphere is satisfactorily formed, and the atmosphere is satisfactorily formed. If not, measures such as increasing the gas injection amount can be taken.

  As described above, according to the laser processing apparatus of the present invention, an irradiation atmosphere is formed in the laser processing apparatus that performs processing of the object to be processed by irradiating the object to be processed while relatively scanning the laser beam. A gas injection unit that injects the gas to be processed in the vicinity of the laser light irradiation portion of the object to be processed, and a rectifying surface that extends from the vicinity of the gas injection unit while maintaining a distance from the object surface along the scanning direction. Therefore, a gas atmosphere can be formed over a wide range along the scanning direction, and the gas atmosphere at the time of laser light irradiation can be improved to improve the laser treatment.

According to another aspect of the laser processing apparatus of the present invention, a laser beam is relatively applied to the object to be processed on a sample stage having an outer dimension substantially the same as the dimension of the object to be processed. In a laser processing apparatus for performing processing of the object to be processed by performing irradiation while scanning, a gas injection unit for injecting a gas forming an irradiation atmosphere in the vicinity of an irradiation part of the object to be processed, and a scanning direction of the sample stage Since it has an end rectifying surface provided at the end and extending along the scanning direction, a gas atmosphere on the sample stage end side can be well formed both inside and outside the scanning direction.
Further, when unloading and loading the object to be processed, the gas injection unit is contrasted with the end rectifying surface side and the gas is injected, so that scanning is started the next time the object to be processed is processed. The atmosphere on the end side of the object to be processed can be made a gas atmosphere at an early stage to increase the processing efficiency.

(Embodiment 1)
Below, the laser annealing processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a sample stage 12 having a plane direction axis (X and Y) is installed so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the figure, and a long laser irradiation cylinder 6 is arranged above the sample stage 12. ing. A laser beam introduction window 4 made of glass or the like is provided above the laser irradiation tube 6 and sealed. The laser beam introduction window 4 is configured such that the laser beam 3 output from the laser light source 1 and passed through the optical system 2 is incident and irradiated downward. Thereby, the laser beam 3 is scanned in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the sample stage 12.
The laser irradiation tube 6 has a gas supply pipe 5 connected to the side surface, and, as shown in FIG. 2, rectifying plates 7a and 7b extending along the front and rear sides in the scanning direction are integrated at the lower end side. A long slit formed between the rectifying plates 7a and 7b serves as a laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8. Therefore, the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8 functions as a gas injection unit.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of oxygen concentration measurement ports 15 are formed in the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8, and an external oxygen concentration meter 16 is connected to the oxygen concentration measurement port 15. It is connected.

Next, the operation of the laser annealing apparatus will be described.
An amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 formed on a substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the sample stage 12 as an object to be processed. From the laser light source 1, the laser beam 3 oscillated in a pulsed manner passes through the optical system 2 to become a linear beam (line beam), and the laser light introduction window 4, the laser irradiation cylinder 6, the laser light irradiation The irradiation surface 11 of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is irradiated through the mouth / gas injection port 8.
Prior to this, nitrogen gas is introduced into the laser irradiation cylinder 6 from the gas supply pipe 5 as an atmospheric gas, and is injected downward through the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8 which is an opening. The injected gas moves to the vicinity of the irradiation surface 11 of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 and is prevented from diffusing upward by the rectifying surfaces on the lower surfaces of the rectifying plates 7a and 7b. And diffused while being rectified forward in the scanning direction and backward in the scanning direction through a ventilation space formed by the rectifying surface on the lower surface side of the rectifying plates 7a and 7b.

  The amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is moved to the irradiation start position set by the sample stage 12 moving in accordance with the pulse of the laser beam 3, and then irradiated with the laser beam 3 while moving at a constant speed. The irradiation surface 11 is moved by scanning the laser beam 3, and an arbitrary region of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is crystallized by the moving irradiation surface 11. At this time, a gas atmosphere is formed by the gas rectified by the rectifying plates 7a and 7b in the scanning direction front 13 and the scanning direction rear 14 of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10, and oxygen is effectively excluded. A gas atmosphere is formed. Also, the oxygen concentration in the gas atmosphere can be maintained substantially constant in the scanning direction. Since the irradiation surface 11 of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 on which laser irradiation is subsequently performed in this gas atmosphere is placed in the gas atmosphere at an early stage and oxygen is sufficiently excluded, laser annealing can be performed satisfactorily. . In addition, since the rectifying plate 7b is placed in a good gas atmosphere for a while after the laser light irradiation, the action of the laser annealing proceeds well and crystallization is performed with good quality.

The extension length of the rectifying plates 7a and 7b in the scanning direction is such that the length from the center of the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8 to the end in the scanning direction is 20 seconds or more as shown in FIG. It is desirable to make the length required. Therefore, for example, when the scanning speed is 10 mm / second, the length is desirably 200 mm or more.
This is because it is possible to perform good laser annealing by sufficiently excluding oxygen by placing it in a gas atmosphere for 20 seconds or more. If the length is less than 20 seconds, particularly less than 10 seconds, the exclusion of oxygen is not sufficient and the laser annealing process may be affected.

  In addition, the irradiation atmosphere during laser light irradiation and standby of the apparatus is always performed by an oxygen concentration meter 16 connected by piping from a plurality of oxygen concentration measurement ports 15 installed in the vicinity of the laser light irradiation port / gas injection port 8. Is managed. If this oxygen concentration exceeds a predetermined safety value, perform quality control by increasing the gas supply amount, reducing the scanning speed, issuing an alarm, etc. Can do.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the structure similar to the said embodiment.
A sample stage 12 having a plane direction axis (X and Y) is movably installed in the left-right direction in the figure, and a long laser irradiation cylinder 6 is arranged above the sample stage 12. A laser beam introduction window 4 is provided above the laser irradiation tube 6 and sealed. The laser beam introduction window 4 is configured such that the laser beam 3 output from the laser light source 1 and passed through the optical system 2 is incident and irradiated downward. Thereby, the laser beam is scanned in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the sample stage 11. The laser irradiation cylinder 6 has a gas supply pipe 5 connected to the side surface, and a laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8 provided on the lower end side.
The sample table 12 is provided with end rectifying plates 17a and 17b along the scanning direction at the end in the scanning direction. In this embodiment, the upper surfaces of the end rectifying plates 17a and 17b are mounted on the sample table 12. It is substantially the same height as the upper surface of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 to be placed, and is slightly higher upward.

Next, the operation of the laser annealing apparatus will be described.
An amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 formed on a substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the sample stage 12 as an object to be processed. The amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is large enough to be mounted on the sample stage 12, and the outer dimensions of the sample stage 12 are slightly larger than the outer dimensions of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10.
From the laser light source 1, the oscillated laser beam 3 passes through the optical system 2 to become a linear beam (line beam), and the laser beam introduction window 4, the laser irradiation cylinder 6, the laser beam irradiation port / gas. The irradiation surface 11 of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is irradiated in a pulsed manner through the injection port 8.
Prior to this, nitrogen gas is introduced into the laser irradiation tube 6 as an atmospheric gas from the gas supply pipe 5 and is injected downward through the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8 which is an opening portion, from the vicinity of the irradiation surface 11. It spreads outward and forms a gas atmosphere.

  The amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is moved to the irradiation start position set by the sample stage 12 moving in accordance with the pulse of the laser beam 3, and then irradiated with the laser beam 3 while moving at a constant speed. An arbitrary region is crystallized by the moving irradiation surface. At this time, when the irradiation position of the laser beam 3 reaches near the end of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10, the gas is rectified by the rectifying plate 17a or the rectifying plate 17b outside the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 in the scanning direction. A gas atmosphere is formed similarly to the inside in the scanning direction, and the gas atmosphere on the inside and outside in the scanning direction can be made substantially the same. Thereby, the end portion of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 can be crystallized with good quality by the laser annealing process similarly to the inside.

  Further, the rectifying plate 17a or 17b can be used when unloading the object to be processed and loading and installing a new amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 on the sample stage 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, at the time of carrying out and carrying in, the sample stage 12 is moved so that the laser beam irradiation / gas injection port 8 is located above the rectifying plate 17a or 17b. Usually, the sample stage 12 is returned to the position before the movement. In accordance with this, by continuing the gas ejection without stopping during the carry-in / out, gas injection performed prior to the start of laser light irradiation in the subsequent annealing process eliminates oxygen to some extent around the laser light irradiation position. There is also an effect that it is possible to start processing early by shortening the time.

  Also in this embodiment, the irradiation atmosphere during the laser beam irradiation and the apparatus standby is an oxygen concentration meter connected by piping from a plurality of oxygen concentration measurement ports 15 installed near the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8. 16 can always manage the oxygen concentration. If the oxygen concentration exceeds a predetermined safety value, the gas supply amount is increased, the scanning speed is reduced, an alarm is issued, or the operation of the apparatus is stopped, as in the above embodiment. Quality control can be performed.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
A sample stage 12 having a plane direction axis (X and Y) is installed so as to be movable in the horizontal direction in the figure, and a long laser irradiation cylinder 6 is disposed above the sample stage 12 as shown in FIG. Yes. A laser beam introduction window 4 is provided and sealed above the laser irradiation tube 6. The laser beam introduction window 4 is configured such that the laser beam 3 output from the laser light source 1 and passed through the optical system 2 is incident and irradiated downward. Thereby, the laser beam 3 is scanned in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the sample stage 11.

The laser irradiation tube 6 has a gas supply pipe 5 connected to a side surface thereof, and rectifying plates 7a and 7b extending along the front and rear sides in the scanning direction are provided on the lower end side, and the rectifying plates 7a and 7b are provided. The gap secured in this is a laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8. Therefore, the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8 functions as a gas injection unit.
Further, the sample table 12 is provided with end rectifying plates 17a and 17b along the scanning direction at the end in the scanning direction. In this embodiment, the upper surfaces of the end rectifying plates 17a and 17b The height is substantially the same as the upper surface of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 placed on the surface, and is slightly higher upward.

Next, the operation of the laser annealing apparatus will be described.
An amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 formed on a substrate 9 to be processed is placed on the sample stage 12 as an object to be processed. The amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is large enough to be mounted on the sample stage 12, and the outer dimensions of the sample stage 12 are slightly larger than the outer dimensions of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10.
From the laser light source 1, the oscillated laser beam 3 passes through the optical system 2 to become a linear beam (line beam), and the laser beam introduction window 4, the laser irradiation cylinder 6, the laser beam irradiation port / gas. The irradiation surface 11 of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is irradiated in a pulsed manner through the injection port 8.
Prior to this, nitrogen gas is introduced into the laser irradiation cylinder 6 from the gas supply pipe 5 as an atmospheric gas, and is injected downward through the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8 which is an opening. The injected gas moves to the vicinity of the irradiation surface 11 and is prevented from diffusing upward by the rectifying surface on the lower surface side of the rectifying plates 7a and 7b, and the upper surface of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 and the rectifying plates 7a and 7b. It diffuses while being rectified forward in the scanning direction and backward in the scanning direction through the ventilation space formed by the rectifying surface on the lower surface side.

  The amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 is moved to the irradiation start position set by the sample stage 12 moving in accordance with the pulse of the laser beam 3, and then irradiated with the laser beam 3 while moving at a constant speed. An arbitrary region is crystallized by the moving irradiation surface. At this time, a gas atmosphere is formed by the gas rectified by the rectifying plates 7a and 7b in the scanning direction front 13 and the scanning direction rear 14 of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10, and oxygen is effectively excluded. A gas atmosphere is formed. Also, the oxygen concentration in the gas atmosphere can be maintained substantially constant in the scanning direction. Laser irradiation is subsequently performed in this gas atmosphere.

  Laser annealing can be satisfactorily performed by placing the surface of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 in a gas atmosphere at an early stage and sufficiently excluding oxygen. In addition, since the rectifying plate 7b is placed in a good gas atmosphere for a while after the laser light irradiation, the action of the laser annealing proceeds well and crystallization is performed with good quality. At this time, when the irradiation position of the laser beam 3 reaches the vicinity of the end of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10, the rectifying plate 7 a and the end rectifying plate 17 b or the rectifying plate are disposed outside the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 in the scanning direction. The gas is rectified by the plate 7b and the end rectifying plate 17a, and a gas atmosphere is formed in the same manner as the inside in the scanning direction, so that the gas atmosphere on the inside and outside in the scanning direction can be improved to the same extent. Thereby, the end portion of the amorphous semiconductor thin film 10 can be crystallized with good quality by the laser annealing process similarly to the inside.

  Also in this embodiment, the irradiation atmosphere during the laser beam irradiation and the apparatus standby is an oxygen concentration meter connected by piping from a plurality of oxygen concentration measurement ports 15 installed near the laser beam irradiation port / gas injection port 8. 16 can always manage the oxygen concentration. If the oxygen concentration exceeds a predetermined safety value, the gas supply amount is increased, the scanning speed is reduced, an alarm is issued, or the operation of the apparatus is stopped, as in the above embodiment. Quality control can be performed.

(Embodiment 4)
Still another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, in the laser annealing apparatus of Embodiment 2, sub-direction end rectifying plates 27a and 27b are provided at both ends of the sample stage 12 in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. The sub-direction end rectifying plates 27a and 27b have a function of rectifying the gas flowing in the sub-direction in the laser beam irradiation and the gas injection in the scanning direction. When the laser beam irradiation is performed by moving 12 in a state rotated by 90 degrees, the sub-direction end rectifying plates 27a and 27b can be replaced with the end rectifying plates 17a and 17b to perform a gas rectifying action. . It should be noted that the sub-direction end rectifying plates 27a and 27b can obtain the same effect by being incorporated in the laser annealing apparatus of the third embodiment.

It is the schematic which shows the laser neil processing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. Similarly, it is a perspective view showing a current plate, an oxygen concentration measurement port, and an oxygen concentration meter. Similarly, it is a top view which shows a baffle plate. It is the schematic which shows the laser neil processing apparatus of other embodiment of this invention. Similarly, it is the schematic which shows the laser neil processing apparatus which shows a laser irradiation cylinder retraction | saving state. It is the schematic which shows the laser neil processing apparatus of further another embodiment of this invention. Similarly, it is the schematic which shows the laser neil processing apparatus of other embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser light source 2 Optical system 3 Laser beam 5 Gas supply pipe 7a Rectifier plate 7b Rectifier plate 8 Laser beam irradiation port and gas injection port 10 Amorphous semiconductor thin film 11 Irradiation surface 12 Sample stand 15 Oxygen concentration measurement port 16 Oxygen concentration meter 17a End rectification plate 17b End rectification plate 27a Sub-direction end rectification plate 27b Sub-direction end rectification plate

Claims (10)

  In a laser processing apparatus that processes a target object by irradiating the target object with laser light while scanning relatively, a gas that forms an irradiation atmosphere is jetted in the vicinity of the laser light irradiation portion of the target object. A laser processing apparatus comprising: a gas injection unit; and a rectifying surface extending from the vicinity of the gas injection unit along the scanning direction while maintaining a distance from the surface of the object to be processed.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectifying surface extends forward and backward in the scanning direction.   3. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectifying surface extends in a scanning direction to a position where a moving time required for the scanning is 10 seconds or more.   The object to be processed is irradiated with a laser beam while relatively scanning the object to be processed on a sample stage on which the entire object to be processed has the same outer dimension as the object to be processed. In a laser processing apparatus that performs processing, a gas injection unit that injects a gas forming an irradiation atmosphere in the vicinity of an irradiation portion of the object to be processed, and an end portion in the scanning direction of the sample stage, and extends along the scanning direction. And an end straightening surface.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the end rectifying surface has substantially the same height as the upper surface of the object to be processed placed on the sample stage.   6. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a sub-direction end rectifying surface extending along the orthogonal direction is provided at an end of the sample stage in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction.   The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, comprising the rectifying surface according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser light has a line beam shape.   9. The treatment according to claim 1, wherein the treatment of the object to be processed is an annealing process in which the object to be processed formed of an amorphous semiconductor thin film is irradiated with the laser light to be crystallized. Laser processing equipment.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an oxygen concentration meter that measures an oxygen concentration in the irradiation atmosphere.

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