Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.

Erika Takahashi

Gen Fujii

Shunpei Yamazaki

Shinya Sasagawa

Katsuaki Tochibayashi

Shunichi Ito

Hidekazu Miyairi

Takeshi Nishi

Sachiko Kawakami

Yasuhiro Jinbo

Tetsuhiro Tanaka

Takayuki Kato

Tetsuya Kakehata

Ryo Arasawa

Tsutomu Murakawa

Shuji Fukai

Erumu Kikuchi

Masahiro Takahashi

Koji Dairiki

Mitsuhiro Ichijo

Yuhei Sato

Ryota Hodo

Yuki Imoto

Tomokazu Yokoi

Hiroaki Honda

Kentaro Sugaya

Daisuke Ohgarane

Kunihiro Fukushima

A semiconductor device with high reliability is provided by the following steps: forming an oxide semiconductor; forming a first insulator in contact with the oxide semiconductor; forming a second insulator over the first insulator; forming a third insulator over the second insulator; forming an opening in the third insulator, the second insulator, and the first insulator; cleaning the inside of the opening; embedding a conductor in the cleaned opening; forming the first insulator to include an excess-oxygen region; forming the second insulator to have a higher barrier property against oxygen, hydrogen, or water than the first insulator; and processing the opening to have a cylindrical shape or an inverted cone shape.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device

A semiconductor device in which a variation of transistor characteristics is small is provided. The semiconductor device includes a transistor. The transistor includes a first insulator, a first oxide over the first insulator, a first conductor, a second conductor, and a second oxide, which is positioned between the first conductor and the second conductor, over the first oxide, a second insulator over the second oxide, and a third conductor over the second insulator. A top surface of the first oxide in a region overlapping with the third conductor is at a lower position than a position of a top surface of the first oxide in a region overlapping with the first conductor. The first oxide in the region overlapping with the third conductor has a curved surface between a side surface and the top surface of the first oxide, and the curvature radius of the curved surface is greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 15 nm.

A semiconductor device with small fluctuations in transistor characteristics can be provided. The semiconductor device includes a first oxide, a second oxide and a third oxide over the first oxide, a first conductor over the second oxide, a second conductor over the third oxide, a fourth oxide over the first oxide and between the second oxide and the third oxide, a first insulator over the fourth oxide, and a third conductor over the first insulator. The first oxide includes a groove in a region not overlapping with the second oxide and the third oxide. The first oxide includes a first layered crystal substantially parallel to the surface where the first oxide is formed. In the groove, the fourth oxide includes a second layered crystal substantially parallel to the surface where the first oxide is formed. A concentration of aluminum atoms at an interface between the first oxide and the fourth oxide and in the vicinity of the interface is less than or equal to 5.0 atomic %.

A semiconductor device with less variations in transistor characteristics is provided. A first insulator, first and second oxide films, a first conductive film, a first insulating film, and a second conductive film are deposited and processed to form a first and second oxides, a first conductive layer, a first insulating layer, and a second conductive layer. In the process, a layer is formed to cover the first and second oxides, the first conductive layer, the first insulating layer, and the second conductive layer. The second conductive layer and the layer are removed. A second insulating layer in contact with side surfaces of the first and second oxides, the first conductive layer, and the first insulating layer is formed, and a second insulator is formed thereover. An opening reaching the second oxide is formed in the first conductive layer, the first insulating layer, the second insulating layer, and the second insulator.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device

A semiconductor device in which variations in characteristics, deterioration of elements, and abnormality in shape are inhibited is provided. The semiconductor device includes a first region including a plurality of elements and a second region including a plurality of dummy elements. The second region is provided in an outer edge of the first region, and the element and the dummy element each include an oxide semiconductor. The element and the dummy element have the same structure, and a structure body included in the element and a structure body included in the dummy element are formed with the same material and provided in the same layer. The oxide semiconductor includes In, an element M (M is Al, Ga, Y, or Sn), and Zn.

Semiconductor device

A semiconductor device includes a first insulator; a first oxide over the first insulator; a second oxide over the first oxide; first and second conductors and a third oxide over the second oxide; a second insulator over the first conductor; a third insulator over the second conductor; first and second layers; and fourth to sixth insulators. The sixth insulator includes a region in contact with a top surface of the first insulator. The first layer includes a region in contact with side surfaces of the first and second oxides, a side surface of the first conductor, and the top surface of the first insulator. The second layer includes a region in contact with the side surfaces of the first and second oxides, a side surface of the second conductor, and the top surface of the first insulator.

Semiconductor device and semiconductor device manufacturing method

A semiconductor device with favorable reliability is provided. The semiconductor device includes a first oxide, a second oxide, a first conductor, a second conductor, a third conductor, a first insulator, and a second insulator. The first conductor is provided in contact with a top surface of the first oxide. The second conductor is provided in contact with the top surface of the first oxide. The first insulator is provided over the first conductor and the second conductor. The second oxide is provided in contact with the top surface of the first oxide. The second insulator is provided over the second oxide. The third conductor is provided over the second insulator. The first insulator has a function of inhibiting diffusion of oxygen. The first oxide includes indium, an element M (M is gallium, yttrium, or tin), and zinc. The first oxide includes a first region overlapping with the third conductor. A region of the first region in contact with the second oxide includes a region in which an atomic ratio of aluminum (Al) to the element M is less than 0.1.

Oxidation treatment is performed to the surface of a substrate provided with a photocatalytic conductive film and an insulating film; treatment with a silane coupling agent is performed, so that a silane coupling agent film is formed and the surface of the substrate is modified to be liquid-repellent; and the surface of the substrate is irradiated with light of a wavelength (less than to equal to 390 nm) which has energy of greater than or equal to a band gap of a material for forming the photocatalytic conductive film, so that only the silane coupling agent film over the surface of the photocatalytic conductive film is decomposed and the surface of the photocatalytic conductive film can be modified to be lyophilic.

Method for forming pattern, method for manufacturing light emitting device, and light emitting device

Provided is a transmission electron diffraction measurement apparatus including an electron gun; a first optical system under the electron gun; a sample chamber under the first optical system; a second optical system under the sample chamber; an observation chamber under the second optical system; a region that emits light by receiving energy from an electron in the observation chamber; and a camera facing the region.

Transmission electron diffraction measurement apparatus and method for measuring transmission electron diffraction pattern

A semiconductor device which has stable electrical characteristics and high reliability is provided. The semiconductor device includes a gate electrode over an insulating surface, a gate insulating film over the gate electrode, a semiconductor film which is over the gate insulating film and overlaps with the gate electrode, and a protective insulating film over the semiconductor film; and the protective insulating film includes a crystalline insulating film and an aluminum oxide film over the crystalline insulating film.

An amorphous region with low density is formed in an oxide insulating film containing zirconium. The amount of oxygen released from such an oxide insulating film containing zirconium by heating is large and a temperature at which oxygen is released is higher in the oxide insulating film than in a conventional oxide film (e.g., a silicon oxide film). When the insulating film is formed using a sputtering target containing zirconium in an oxygen atmosphere, the temperature of a surface on which the insulating film is formed may be controlled to be lower than a temperature at which a film to be formed starts to crystallize.

Insulating film, formation method thereof, semiconductor device, and manufacturing method thereof

To provide a display device with higher image quality and reliability or a large-sized display device with a large screen at low cost with high productivity. A function layer (such as a coloring layer or a pixel electrode layer) used in the display device is formed by discharging a liquid function-layer-forming material to an opening formed with a layer including a first organic compound which has a C&#x2014;N bond or a C&#x2014;O bond in the main chain as a base and a layer including a second organic compound as a partition. The fluorine density exhibiting liquid repellency to the liquid function-layer-forming material, which is attached to a surface of the layers including organic compounds, is controlled, whereby a liquid repellent region and a lyophilic region can be selectively formed.

Display device and method for manufacturing display device

An object is to provide a method for manufacturing a thin film transistor having favorable electric characteristics, with high productivity. A gate electrode is formed over a substrate and a gate insulating layer is formed over the gate electrode. A first semiconductor layer is formed over the gate insulating layer by generating plasma using a deposition gas containing silicon or germanium, hydrogen, and a rare gas. Next, a second semiconductor layer including an amorphous semiconductor and a microcrystal semiconductor is formed in such a manner that the first semiconductor layer is partially grown as a seed crystal by generating plasma using a deposition gas containing silicon or germanium, hydrogen, and a gas containing nitrogen. Then, a semiconductor layer to which an impurity imparting one conductivity is added is formed and a conductive film is formed. Thus, a thin film transistor is manufactured.

Method for manufacturing thin film transistor

To control the positioning of a spacer more accurately in a liquid crystal display device to prevent display defects due to incorrect positioning in a display region. To provide a liquid crystal display device with higher image quality and reliability, and to provide a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device with high yield. In a liquid crystal display device, a region onto which a spherical spacer is discharged is subjected to liquid-repellent treatment in order to reduce the wettability with respect to a liquid in which the spherical spacer is dispersed. The liquid (the droplet) does not spread over the liquid-repellent region and is dried while moving the spherical spacer toward the center of the liquid. Thus, incorrect positioning shortly after discharging, which has been caused by the loss of control in the liquid, can be corrected by moving the spherical spacer while drying the liquid.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Erika Takahashi