Sony Corporation

Hisayoshi Yamoto

Hideo Yamanaka

Hajime Yagi

Yuichi Satou

Yuichi Sato

Hisao Hayashi

Yuuichi Sato

Takeshi Matsushita

Teruaki Aoki

Akihiko Ochiai

Takaaki Yamada

Hideo Suzuki

Chiaki Sakai

Yoshiyuki Kawana

Yoshimi Hirata

Norikazu Ohuchi

Masanori Okayama

Shuichi Sato

Yoshiyuki Kawada

Tohru Sugimoto

Masataka Shingu

A method is disclosed for forming high-quality high-crystallinity polycrystalline or monocrystalline thin semiconductor film. The method is capable of forming such a semiconductor film over a large area at low cost. An apparatus for practicing the method is also disclosed. To form a high-crystallinity large-grain polycrystalline film or monocrystalline thin semiconductor film on a substrate, or to produce a semiconductor device including a high-crystallinity large-grain polycrystalline film or monocrystalline thin semiconductor film disposed on a substrate, a low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film is first formed on the substrate, and then focused-light annealing is performed on the low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film thereby melting or semi-melting the low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film. The focused-light annealing allows enhancement of crystallization that occurs when the melted low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film is cooled, and thus the low-crystal-quality thin semiconductor film is converted into a high-quality polycrystalline (or monocrystalline) thin semiconductor film.

Method and apparatus for forming a thin semiconductor film, method and apparatus for producing a semiconductor device, and electro-optical apparatus

Each of an electrooptical device and a driving substrate for the electrooptical device includes a first substrate having a display section provided with pixel electrodes and a peripheral-driving-circuit section provided on the periphery of the display section, a second substrate, and an optical material disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. A gate section including a gate electrode and a gate-insulating film is formed on one surface of the first substrate, a compound layer having high lattice matching with single-crystal silicon is formed on the surface of the first substrate, and a single-crystal silicon layer is formed on the first substrate including the compound layer and the gate section. The single-crystal silicon layer constitutes a channel region, a source region, and a drain region. In addition, a first bottom-gate thin-film transistor having the gate section is formed below the channel region, the first bottom-gate thin-film transistor constituting at least a part of the peripheral-driving-circuit section.

Electrooptical device, substrate for driving electrooptical device and methods for making the same

A single crystal silicon is graphoepitaxially grown using a step formed on a substrate as a seed by a catalyst process, and the obtained single crystal silicon layer is used for a dual gate type MOSTFT in an electro-optical apparatus such as a display section of a peripheral driving circuit integration type LCD. A single crystal silicon thin film having high electron/hole mobility is formed into a uniform film at a relatively low temperature, which enables the manufacturing of an active matrix substrate incorporated with a high-performance driver which can be used in a TFT display.

Electro-optical apparatus, driving substrate for an electro-optical apparatus and method of manufacturing them

A single-crystal silicon layer is formed by graphoepitaxy from a low-melting-point metal layer which contains dissolved polycrystalline or amorphous silicon, or from a melt of a silicon-containing low-melting-point metal, using step differences formed on a substrate as a seed for the epitaxial growth. This single-crystal silicon layer is used as dual-gate MOSTFTs, or bottom-gate MOSTFTs, of an electrooptical device such as an LCD integrating a display section and a peripheral-driving-circuit section. This process enables production of a uniform single-crystal silicon thin-film having high electron/hole mobility at a relatively low temperature. The display section includes LDD-nMOSTFTs or pMOSTFTs having high switching characteristics and a low leakage current. The peripheral-driving-circuit section includes cMOSTFTs, nMOSTFTs, pMOSTFTs, or a combination thereof, having high driving ability.

Method of producing electrooptical device and method of producing driving substrate for driving electrooptical device

When a polycrystalline or single crystal silicon layer is grown by catalytic CVD, a catalyst having a nitride covering at least its surface is used. In case that tungsten is used as the catalyst, tungsten nitride is formed as the nitride. The nitride is made by heating the surface of the catalyst to a high temperature around 1600 to 2100&deg; C. in an atmosphere containing nitrogen prior to the growth. When the catalyst is heated to the temperature for its use or its nitrification, it is held in a hydrogen atmosphere.

Method of growing a polycrystalline silicon layer, method of growing a single crystal silicon layer and catalytic CVD apparatus

A thin film forming apparatus S having a vacuum chamber , a substrate , a thermal catalyst , and a heating means for heating this thermal catalyst , wherein a gas introduction system for feeding the gas is connected in the vacuum chamber , the gas is fed from this gas introduction system to the vacuum chamber , and thin films are formed on the surface of the substrate by utilizing a thermal decomposition reaction or catalytic reaction by the thermal catalyst , the gas introduction system is for introducing a carrier gas containing hydrogen and a material gas for forming the thin film on the substrate , and the carrier gas is constantly fed into the vacuum chamber at least during the formation of the thin film.

Method and apparatus for thin-film deposition, and method of manufacturing thin-film semiconductor device

A method for forming a semiconductor film capable allowing easy cleaning of the processing equipment and capable of forming an epitaxial film at low temperatures as well as a manufacturing method for semiconductor devices utilizing this forming method is needed for achieving selective crystalline growth on semiconductor film. The forming method comprises a process for forming a mask having an aperture exposing a substrate surface on substrate, and a process for forming a semiconductor film by selective crystalline growth on a semiconductor piece by means of catalytic chemical vapor deposition on a substrate surface exposed by an aperture on a mask; as well as a manufacturing method for semiconductor devices utilizing the semiconductor film forming method.

Semiconductor film forming method and manufacturing method for semiconductor devices thereof

An electro-optic device, such as an LCD, includes a display unit and a peripheral drive circuit unit on a single substrate. A gate comprising a gate electrode and gate insulation film is formed on a surface of the substrate. A layer of a substance having good lattice compatibility with manocrystalline silicon is formed over the gate insulation film. A layer of monocrystalline silicon is formed over the substance layer. Manocrystalline silicon is heteroepitaxially grown by catalytic CVD or the like using a crystalline sapphire film formed on the substrate to form the monocrystalline silicon layer. The monocrystalline silican layer is used as a dual gate MOSTFT of the electro-optic device.

Electro-optic device, drive substrate for electro-optic device and method of manufacturing the same

Electro-optical apparatus having a display section and a peripheral driving circuit section

In case of epitaxially growing a single crystal silicon layer by catalytic CVD on a material layer in lattice alignment with single crystal silicon, i.e. a substrate of single crystal silicon, sapphire, spinel, or the like, the total pressure of the growth atmosphere is maintained in the range from 1.33&times;10 Pa to 4 Pa at least in the initial period of the epitaxial growth, or alternatively, partial pressure of oxygen and moisture in the growth atmosphere is maintained in the range from 6.65&times;10 to 2&times;10 Pa at least in the initial period of the epitaxial growth. Thus, the maximum oxygen concentration of the epitaxially grown single crystal silicon layer becomes not higher than 3&times;10 atoms/cm at least in a portion with the thickness of 10 nm from the boundary with the substrate 4. It is thus ensured to epitaxially grow a high-quality single crystal silicon layer at a lower temperature than that of existing CVD.

Single crystal silicon layer, its epitaxial growth method and semiconductor device

A single-crystal silicon layer is formed by graphoepitaxy from a low-melting-point metal layer which contains dissolved polycrystalline or amorphous silicon, or from a melt of a silicon-containing low-melting-point metal, using step differences formed on a substrate as a seed for the epitaxial growth. This single-crystal silicon layer is used as dual-gate MOSTFTS, or bottom-gate MOSTFTS, of an electrooptical device such as an LCD integrating a display section and a peripheral-driving-circuit section. This process enables production of a uniform single-crystal silicon thin-film having high electron/hole mobility at a relatively low temperature. The display section includes LDD-nMOSTFTs or pMOSTFTs having high switching characteristics and a low leakage current. The peripheral-driving-circuit section includes cMOSTFTs, nMOSTFTs, pMOSTFTs, or a combination thereof, having high driving ability.

Single-crystal silicon is deposited on an insulating substrate ( ) with a crystalline sapphire layer ( ) formed thereon as a seed, to form a silicon epitaxial layer ( ). P-type impurity ions are implanted into a single-crystal silicon layer, and then N-type impurity ions are implanted to make a P-channel MOS transistor portion a single-crystal silicon layer ( ). In a single-crystal silicon layer ( ), an N source region ( ) and drain region ( ) of an N-channel MOS transistor are formed. Thus, a silicon layer is epitaxially grown uniformly at low temperatures.

Method of forming monocrystalline silicon layer, method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and semiconductor device

Polycrystalline silicon film forming methods to improve movement of electrons and holes and thus allow the fabrication of high performance semiconductor elements is needed. In a method of the present invention, polycrystalline is formed utilizing as a material, a chemical compound comprising at least one type of impurity from among tin (Sn), germanium (Ge) and lead (Pb) and a polycrystalline silicon film doped with impurities from at least one type from among tin (Sn), germanium (Ge) and lead (Pb) thus formed. In another method, polycrystalline silicon is formed, and the polycrystalline silicon film thus obtained is afterwards then doped with an impurity consisting of at least one type from among tin (Sn), germanium (Ge) and lead (Pb).

Methods for forming polycrystalline silicon film

The present invention provides an active matrix substrate having a built-in high-performance driver, in which a single crystal silicon thin film having high electron/hole mobility is uniformly deposited at a relatively low temperature, and an electrooptic device such as a thin film semiconductor device for display including the active matrix substrate. The single crystal silicon thin film is deposited by hetero epitaxial growth by a catalytic CVD method or the like using a crystalline sapphire thin film formed on the substrate as a seed so that the single crystal silicon layer obtained is used for top gate type MOSTFTs of the electrooptic device such as a LED or the like in which a display region and a peripheral driving circuit region are integrated.

Electrooptic device, driving substrate for electrooptic device, and method of manufacturing the device and substrate

A capacitor in a ferroelectric nonvolatile memory (FERAM) comprising a lower electrode formed on a semiconductor substrate; a ferroelectric thin film formed on the lower electrode; an upper electrode formed on the ferroelectric thin film; a first protective layer consisting of one or more layers formed between the semiconductor substrate and the lower electrode, and composed of a material selected from those of Group IVa transition metal, Group Va transition metal, Group IVa transition metal nitride, Group Va transition metal nitride, silicon nitride, nickel and palladium; and a second protective layer consisting of one or more layers formed on the upper electrode, and composed of a material selected from those of Group IVa transition metal, Group Va transition metal, Group IVa transition metal nitride, Group Va transition metal nitride, nickel and palladium. Since the ferroelectric capacitor is enclosed with composite films of such materials, it becomes possible to prevent diffusion of hydrogen and intrusion of water content therein to consequently avert deterioration of the characteristics.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Hisayoshi Yamoto