JPS61259524A - Semiconductor device and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the productivity at manufacturing time, to provide stable performance for variations in the manufacturing conditions and to increase the effective area by providing and patterning regions from which semiconductor is removed in a broken line state in a semiconductor which contains an amorphous semiconductor. CONSTITUTION:Regions removed in broken line state are formed by mounting a semiconductor which contains an amorphous semiconductor formed on an electrode separately presented on the same substrate, for example, on a table such as an X-Y table, and an energy beam remains as it is while moving the table or the beam is emitted while scanning. The shape of the beam to be emitted to the semiconductor is generally near circular. The shape is frequently of square, rectangular, elliptical or parallelogram shape by disposing slits in the beam. The semiconductor is removed by one pulse, and the shape of the removed region is determined in response to the emitting area shape, the intensity distribution and the table moving speed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides high productivity during manufacturing, stable performance even in the face of fluctuations in manufacturing conditions, and expansion of effective area. The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, semiconductor devices have been manufactured by removing a portion of a semiconductor formed on an electrode by irradiation with an energy beam, and then forming an electrode thereon.

When a part of the semiconductor is removed by irradiation with an energy beam, the removed area is formed continuously in a straight line from one end face of the substrate to the other end face, and areas removed in the same way are repeatedly formed at certain intervals. There are a lot of people. By forming electrodes on this semiconductor and patterning it, solar cells connected in series or in series and parallel can be changed.

The energy beam used to remove a portion of the semiconductor is typically pulsed and also exposes the substrate to, e.g.
- Install it on the Y table and move it at a predetermined speed,
The semiconductor is removed. At this time, the x-y table advances by a certain distance d determined by the table movement speed and the pulse frequency between the irradiation of the pulsed energy beam and the irradiation of the next pulsed energy beam. The beams of the next pulse and the previous pulse usually overlap to some extent, such as when A is the distance from the center of the shape of the irradiated surface of the energy beam to the periphery of the part removed in the table's advancing direction. In other words, the relationship d<2A holds. Generally, the overlapping area is 10 to 20% or more.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

To remove the semiconductor as described above, d<2A
It is necessary to determine the table movement speed and pulse frequency so that However, changing the pulse frequency also changes the nature of the energy beam, so there is a range of suitable frequencies. Therefore, the table movement speed is restricted, making it difficult to increase the table movement speed and significantly improve productivity.

In addition, if there is a slight change in the table movement speed or pulse frequency, if there is a change in the reflectance or film thickness of the semiconductor, or if there is a change in the energy beam itself, The way semiconductors are removed differs.

If the above-mentioned fluctuations work to increase the overlapping area of the beams, damage may occur to the electrode under the semiconductor layer and even to the substrate underneath. Furthermore, if the overlapping area of the beams becomes small, the semiconductor layer will not be removed sufficiently, and in extreme cases, it will not be possible to remove the semiconductor layer.

In the present invention, when a part of a semiconductor layer is removed by irradiation with an energy beam, the table movement speed or the beam scanning speed is restricted, making it impossible to increase productivity, and at the same time, the above-mentioned fluctuations in conditions are avoided. This solves the problem that the way semiconductors are removed varies greatly, resulting in variations in the performance of semiconductor devices and lower yields. At the same time, it increases the effective area of semiconductor devices by reducing the area of the removed parts. [Means for solving the dC problem] The present invention provides separated electrodes existing on the same substrate, a semiconductor including an amorphous semiconductor formed on the electrode, and A semiconductor device comprising an electrode formed on a semiconductor, characterized in that the semiconductor is patterned with regions in which the semiconductor is removed in the form of broken lines, and A semiconductor containing an amorphous semiconductor formed on separate electrodes is placed on a table, and an energy beam is irradiated while moving the table or scanning the energy beam, and the semiconductor is removed. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device characterized by forming a pattern by providing regions in the shape of broken lines and further providing electrodes.

〔Example〕

Examples of the substrate used in the present invention include common substrates used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, such as substrates molded from glass, ceramics, heat-resistant polymer films, heat-resistant resins, and the like.

The electrodes formed on the substrate so as to be electrically isolated may be transparent electrodes or general metal electrodes. However, if the substrate side is the light incident surface,
Preferably, transparent electrodes are used. As a specific example,
An example of an electrode is an electrically isolated electrode formed from ITO1Sn02, Cr, No, W, etc. and used in the manufacture of general semiconductor devices with a film thickness of about 200 to 200 mm.

The semiconductor containing an amorphous semiconductor used in the present invention means a semiconductor consisting of only an amorphous semiconductor or a mixture of an amorphous semiconductor and a crystalline semiconductor when the semiconductor is composed of a single layer. , when a semiconductor is composed of multiple layers, it means that at least one of the layers forming the semiconductor layer is a semiconductor consisting only of an amorphous semiconductor or a mixture of an amorphous semiconductor and a crystalline semiconductor. . Semiconductors made of such an amorphous semiconductor alone or a mixture of an amorphous semiconductor and a crystal rod semiconductor generally have a characteristic of lower electrical conductivity than crystalline semiconductors.

Specific examples of the amorphous semiconductor include amorphous silicon, amorphous silicon carbide, amorphous silicon nitride, amorphous silicon germane, etc.
Specific examples of semiconductors made of a mixture of amorphous semiconductors and crystalline semiconductors include microcrystalline silicon, fluorinated silicon (microcrystals), and specific examples of semiconductors containing multilayered amorphous semiconductors. Examples of such semiconductors include amorphous silicon-based semiconductors containing microcrystalline silicon formed on crystalline silicon.

Note that the term "crystalline semiconductor" as used herein is a concept that includes so-called microcrystalline semiconductors, polycrystalline semiconductors, and single-crystalline semiconductors.

The electrode formed on the semiconductor containing the amorphous semiconductor is AI', in the case where light is incident from the substrate side.
When light is incident on a metal electrode such as Cr, NL, Mo, W1~, negative from the electrode side, ITO is used.
It is preferable to use a transparent electrode such as , SnO2 or the like.

In the present invention, the semiconductor including the amorphous conductor is patterned with regions where the semiconductor is removed in the form of broken lines. □ ′: There are no immediate limitations on the shape, depth, size, spacing, etc. of the removed region, and the semiconductor: The removed region is provided in the shape of a broken line and the semiconductor is patterned. Bye. As for the shape, for example, □ is preferably approximately circular, square, elliptical, rectangular, parallelogram, etc., and the depth of the removed area is as far as the separated electrodes existing on the same substrate. Alternatively, at the center (within 80% of the area occupied by the removed region), most of the squares of the electrode may be removed and reach the substrate surface.

'In this specification, the removed area is provided in a broken line shape is a concept that includes the case where the removed areas are in point contact: most of the adjacent removed areas but,
It refers to a series of broken lines that are in contact with each other but are discontinuous, and the broken lines formed by the removed regions are usually placed on the semiconductor layer with an interval of about 5 to 20 mm.
~There are dozens of them.

In the region removed in the shape of a broken line, a semiconductor including an amorphous semiconductor formed on an electrode that is separated on the same substrate is placed on a table such as an X-Y table, and
It is formed by irradiating an energy beam while moving the temple or by irradiating an energy beam while scanning.

Examples of the energy beam include laser beams, ion beams, electron beams, etc. Among these, laser beams are preferred because they can be used either in vacuum or in the atmosphere and can be easily pulsed. ).

There is no particular limit to the shape of the semiconductor to which the energy beam is irradiated, but it is generally close to circular.Also, a slit can be placed in the energy beam to create an arbitrary shape. However, in this case, the shape is often a square, rectangle, or parallelogram such as an oval or rhombus.The semiconductor is removed by one pulse, but the shape of the irradiated surface and its The shape of the area to be removed is determined depending on the intensity distribution, table movement speed, etc.

In the present invention, if the ratio of the actually removed area to the area surrounded by the envelope connecting the outer peripheral edges of the removed area is small, electrical connection is made in series or in series-parallel. In this case, the resistance increases, which is undesirable. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shortest distance between the removed area (2) of the semiconductor (3) and the area removed by the next pulse is r, from the center of the removed area. If the maximum diameter among the diameters to the peripheral edge of the region is D, if the shape of the removed region is approximately circular or square, r>130 is 3 of the removed region.
Preferably, it is less than 0%. Further, when the shape of the removed region is approximately an ellipse, a rectangle, or a parallelogram such as a rhombus, it is preferable that r>100 be less than 30%. Note that Figure 3 is from A-A in Figure 1.
- It is a diagram for explaining the cross section, (1) is the substrate, (4
) are separated electrodes.

The center of the removed region as used herein refers to the position of the center of gravity of the removed region with respect to its shape.

On the other hand, in each shape, from the point of view of productivity and yield, the beam of the next pulse and the beam of the previous pulse overlap (X, p with respect to the area that was eventually removed).
Is it undesirable to have a large number of parts where <Q, and parts where r<0? I (preferably less than 30% of the removed area. Therefore, if the shape of the removed area is a circle, circle, or square, 70% or more of the number of removed areas is O≦r≦130 (however, r=D=O
) is preferred. In addition, the shape of the removed area is [f If it is an ellipse, rectangle, or parallelogram, 70% or more is O≦r≦10
Preferably, D (but not r=D=0) X0 In order to remove a portion of the semiconductor layer according to the present invention, irradiation with an energy beam is used.

For that purpose, 88 is a Q-switch YAG laser, Q
Solid state lasers such as switched ruby lasers, CO21
Examples include, but are not limited to, an EA laser, an ion gun that generates an ion beam, and an electron gun that generates an electron beam. However, it is preferable that the energy beam is a laser beam, such as a YAG laser or a CO2 laser, or that the energy beam is obtained by pulse oscillation, such as a Q-switched laser or a TEA laser. It is preferable to remove a part of the semiconductor layer while setting it on a table and moving it.

As already explained, an N-pole is patterned and formed on the semiconductor after the energy beams are overlapped on the semiconductor to continuously remove the semiconductor layer on the substrate from near one end to near the other end. In the conventional semiconductor devices obtained by this method, the performance of the devices varies and the yield decreases, and at the same time, the productivity itself cannot be easily improved. Therefore, in the semiconductor device of the present invention, when removing a part of the semiconductor including the amorphous semiconductor,
The pulse frequency of the energy beam used for removal and the table movement or scanning speed are
By satisfying the relationship d≧2^, and adjusting and manufacturing so that 70% or more of adjacent removed areas are in point contact or are connected in a discontinuous manner,
The low yield and low productivity of conventional equipment can be significantly improved.

Next, an actual IM mode in which a semiconductor is removed using a Q-switched YAG laser will be described.

For example, electrodes of ITO, 5n02, etc. are formed on a glass substrate by a method such as electron beam evaporation, and the electrodes are separated by pattern etching. A semiconductor including an amorphous semiconductor is deposited thereon by a glow discharge decomposition method or the like. Thereafter, the semiconductor is set on an x-y table with the semiconductor facing upward, and a part of the semiconductor is removed by irradiating the semiconductor with a Q-switched WAG laser.

The operating conditions for a Q-switched YAG laser include, for example, using a fundamental wave (1,06ρ) and a pulse frequency of 1 to 5.
Hz, average output 0.05~6W, mode TE14
Or multimode, pulse width 50-600ns
Conditions of about ee can be mentioned.

-15-・×-The moving speed of the Y table or the scanning speed of the energy beam is 30 to 800 mIII/sec.
.

Preferably it is about 100 to 600 mm/see.

Further electrodes are formed on the semiconductor including the amorphous semiconductor formed on the separated electrodes on the same substrate F manufactured in this way, and are further formed with patterning if necessary. and a semiconductor device of the present invention is manufactured.

The semiconductor device of the present invention manufactured in this way can be suitably used as a solar cell connected in series or in series and parallel on a single substrate.

Next, the semiconductor device and its Ill method of the present invention will be explained based on examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1 I was deposited on glass with a thickness of 1.1 i by electron beam evaporation.
800 layers of TO and 200 layers of 5not were deposited on ITO, and separated electrodes were formed by pattern etching. After that, using glow discharge decomposition method, the substrate temperature was 2
09°C, pressure 0.5-1.0 Torr.

p-type amorphous SiC:H/i under the condition of RF power 30-
Type amorphous Si: tl/n type microcrystalline Si:H composition, the thickness of each layer is 150, 7,000 and 300, respectively.
A silicon-based semiconductor layer was formed. Thereafter, the semiconductor layer is placed on an x-y table with the semiconductor layer facing up, and the table movement speed is r! At 1600a/Sec, part of the semiconductor layer was removed using a Q-switched YAG laser.

The operating conditions of the Q-switched YAG laser were as follows: fundamental wave mouth, 06m1), pulse frequency lKH2, average output 6cm, multimode, pulse width 150r3sec.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shape of the removed area was close to a perfect circle, and the average of the removed area provided between 70C111 was [) -0.04H,r -0.62tm.

Therefore, r=13D.

Thereafter, an N electrode was deposited to a thickness of 5000 nm and patterned by chemical etching.

Furthermore, a solar cell was manufactured by cutting and separating using a glass cutter and connecting four thick 1 cells in series in the same plane. The effective area of each Tai WaN pond was about 1 d, and the total effective area was about 4 d.

Using the solar cell obtained by connecting the four solar cells in series, the solar cell characteristics were measured under 150 lux of fluorescent light. Table 1 shows the average results of the 50 solar cells obtained.

Example 2 A part of the semiconductor layer was removed under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that a rectangular slit was placed in the laser beam and the table speed was 250 ttm/Sec.

The shape of the removed area is a rectangle as shown in FIG.
R(1) Average TeD=0.035 ttvn, r=Q
, 025 cam', so r=0.70.

Thereafter, in the same manner as in Example 1, a solar cell was manufactured by connecting four solar cells with an effective area of 1- in series, and its characteristics were measured under the same □ conditions as in Example 1. The average results of the 50 solar cells obtained are shown in Section 11'. □ Comparative Example 1 Solar cells were manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the moving speed of the X-Y table was 50 mm/sec. did. In this case, in order to make the beam from one pulse overlap with the beam from the next pulse, the removed area is a continuous straight line with a line width of 0 as shown in Figure 4.
．． It was 0.08 mm. Its characteristics were measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 1.

[Margin below]

From the results in Table 1, it can be seen that the apparatus of the present invention can be manufactured under conditions of high table movement speed, can therefore be operated under highly productive manufacturing conditions, and has stable and high performance. I understand. Furthermore, it can be seen that Comparative Example 1 had poor productivity and poor yield in terms of performance, and the average value was also poor.

Further, Examples 1 and 2 can provide solar cells with an expanded effective area compared to Comparative Example 1. For example, the solar cell obtained in Example 1 has an effective area approximately 7% larger than that of Comparative Example 1. Therefore, the values of I and I include the difference in the effective sc op area. If Comparative Example 1
is the same effective area as in Example 1, then rso=
It should be 12.5 μA 1 rop = 9.2 μ8.

(Effects of the Invention) The semiconductor device of the present invention has stable performance. Such a semiconductor device can be obtained by the method of the present invention under manufacturing conditions with high productivity, and even if the manufacturing conditions change, it is possible to prevent the product yield from decreasing. Furthermore, the semiconductor device of the present invention can have a larger effective area and improved performance compared to conventional devices.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an intermediate stage of one embodiment of manufacturing the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an intermediate stage of another embodiment of manufacturing the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the intermediate stage of another embodiment of manufacturing the apparatus of the present invention. Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the △-A' cross section of
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram regarding the intermediate stage of A-building. (Main symbols in the drawing) (1) Two substrates (2): removed area (3) two-handed conductor (4) two separated electrodes Electrode expert 4 chef

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A semiconductor device comprising separated electrodes existing on the same substrate, a semiconductor including an amorphous semiconductor formed on the electrode, and an electrode formed on the semiconductor, the semiconductor device comprising: 1. A semiconductor device characterized in that the area from which the semiconductor is removed is provided in a pattern in the form of a broken line. 2 The shape of the removed area is approximately circular or square, the shortest distance between adjacent removed areas is r, and the maximum diameter from the center to the peripheral edge of the removed area is D. More than 70% of the number of regions are 0≦r≦13
2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device satisfies the condition D (however, r=D=0). 3 The shape of the removed area is approximately elliptical, rectangular, or parallelogram, and the shortest distance between adjacent removed areas is r, and the distance from the center of the removed area to the periphery of the area is Claim 1 characterized in that 70% or more of the number of removed regions satisfies 0≦r≦10D (however, r=D=0 is not satisfied), where the maximum distance is D. 1. Semiconductor device described in Section 1. 4. A semiconductor including an amorphous semiconductor formed on separate electrodes on the same substrate is placed on a table, and irradiated with an energy beam while moving the table or scanning the energy beam, The removed area is provided in the semiconductor in the form of a broken line and patterned.
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, further comprising providing an electrode. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the energy beam is a laser beam. 6. Claim 5, wherein the laser beam is obtained by pulse oscillation, and a part of the semiconductor is removed by irradiating the semiconductor with the laser beam while moving a table on which the substrate is placed. Manufacturing method described.