Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Other

Kazuhide Tomiyasu

Yutaka Takafuji

Yasumori Fukushima

Shigeyasu Mori

Michiko Takei

Hiroyuki Ogawa

Ritsuko Kawasaki

Tadayoshi Miyamoto

Hiroki Adachi

Hidehito Kitakado

Masao Moriguchi

Kazuo Nakagawa

Shin Matsumoto

Shunpei Yamazaki

Tomohiro Kimura

Kenji Kasahara

Hiroyuki Moriwaki

Makoto Nakazawa

Fumiki Nakano

Wataru Nakamura

Kazuatsu Ito

Sumio Katoh

Rikiya Takita

Steven Roy Droes

Tokuaki Kuniyoshi

Atsushi Tomyo

Steven Droes

An imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a photoelectric conversion part that converts incident light into electric charge, and a detection part that detects the electric charge generated in the photoelectric conversion part. The photoelectric conversion part includes a plurality of photodiodes arranged in a matrix, and the detection part includes a plurality of thin film transistors provided corresponding to the plurality of photodiodes and arranged in a matrix. Each of the photodiodes includes a lower electrode, a semiconductor layer, and an upper electrode, and an insulating layer is provided between at least a portion of the lower electrode in the thickness direction and the semiconductor layer in the peripheral portion of the semiconductor layer. An end of the insulating layer has a tapered shape having an acute angle between the lower surface and the side surface of the insulating layer.

Imaging device and X-ray imaging device

An aim of the present invention is to make it possible to achieve stable operation of thin film transistors in an imaging panel of an X-ray imaging system that uses an indirect conversion scheme. An imaging panel includes a substrate, thin film transistor, photoelectric conversion element, and bias wiring line. The thin film transistor is formed on the substrate. The photoelectric conversion element is connected to the thin film transistor and irradiated by scintillation light. The bias wiring line is connected to the photoelectric conversion element and applies a reverse bias voltage to the photoelectric conversion element. The thin film transistor includes a semiconductor active layer and a gate electrode. The gate electrode is formed between the substrate and semiconductor active layer. The bias wiring line includes a portion that overlaps the gate electrode and semiconductor active layer as seen from the radiation direction of the scintillation light.

Imaging panel and X-ray imaging system provided with said imaging panel

Provided is a technique that reduces patterning defects of data lines in an imaging panel and drain electrodes in thin film transistors without lowering the aperture ratio of the imaging panel. The imaging panel captures scintillation light, which are X-rays that have passed through a specimen and been converted by a scintillator. The imaging panel includes a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines. The imaging panel includes, in each of the pixels, a conversion element that converts scintillation light to electric charge, and a thin film transistor connected to the gate line, data line, and conversion element. A drain electrode of the thin film transistor is formed such that edges of the drain electrode near the data line are more inside the pixel than edges of the conversion element near the data line.

Imaging panel and x-ray imaging device provided therewith

The present invention aims at inhibiting the occurrence of thinning or disconnecting of the bias wiring line in an imaging panel and X-ray imaging device, thereby inhibiting signal delays, signal transmission defects, and the like. A second contact hole electrically connecting an electrode of a photodiode to a bias wiring line penetrates a second interlayer insulating film and photosensitive resin layer. In the second contact hole, an area of a region where the photosensitive resin layer opens is smaller than an area of a region where the second interlayer insulating film opens.

Imaging panel and X-ray imaging device

A second insulating film is disposed so as to cover a conversion element that includes a first insulating film, photodiode, and electrode. The second insulating film is made of a SiNOmaterial, where x is greater than 0 and y is greater than or equal to 0. This makes it possible to provide a TFT and photodiode with excellent anti-moisture characteristics.

An aim of the present invention is to improve the conversion efficiency of scintillation light into electric charge by a photoelectric conversion element in an imaging panel of an X-ray imaging system using an indirection conversion scheme. An imaging panel generates images based on scintillation light acquired from X-rays that have passed through a specimen. The imaging panel includes a substrate, thin film transistor, photoelectric conversion element, and reflective layer. The thin film transistor is formed on the substrate. The photoelectric conversion element is connected to the thin film transistor and converts incident scintillation light into electric charge. The entirety of a region of a light-receiving surface of the photoelectric conversion element where the scintillation light is incident overlaps the reflective layer as seen from the incident direction of the scintillation light. The reflective layer may be the drain electrode. Alternatively, the reflective layer may be a reflective electrode that is formed in the same layer as a gate electrode.

An X-ray image pickup system () includes an X-ray source (), an image pickup panel (), a scintillator (), and an X-ray control unit (E). The image pickup panel includes a photoelectric conversion element (), a capacitor (), a thin film transistor (), and TFT control units (A,B,F). To the photoelectric conversion element (), scintillation light is projected. The capacitor () is connected to the photoelectric conversion element (), and accumulates charges. The thin film transistor () is connected to the capacitor (). The TFT control units (A,B,F) control an operation of the thin film transistor (). The thin film transistor () includes a semiconductor active layer () made of an oxide semiconductor. The X-ray control unit (E) intermittently projects X-ray to the X-ray source (). The TFT control units (A,B,F) cause the thin film transistor () to operate when the X-ray is not projected, so as to read out the charges accumulated in the capacitor ().

X-ray image pickup system

An aim of the present invention is to provide a technology that increases the aperture ratio of an imaging panel. The imaging panel captures scintillation light, which are X-rays that have passed through a specimen and been converted by a scintillator. The imaging panel includes a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines. The imaging panel includes, in each of the pixels, a conversion element that converts scintillation light to electric charge, a thin film transistor connected to the gate line, data line, and conversion element, and a metal wiring line connecting to the conversion element and supplying a bias voltage to the conversion element. The metal wiring line is positioned generally parallel to the data line and is closer to the data line that connects to the thin film transistor than approximately the center in the extension direction of the gate line of the conversion element.

Imaging panel and X-ray imaging device provided therewith

A light detection device includes: a TFT having a semiconductor layer supported on a substrate, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gate electrode; a photodiode having a bottom electrode electrically connected to the drain electrode, a semiconductor laminate structure, and a top electrode; and an electrode made of the same conductive film as the bottom electrode and arranged on the semiconductor layer with an insulating layer interposed therebetween.

Light detection device with integrated photodiode and thin film transistor

This semiconductor device includes a substrate and a thin film transistor supported on the substrate. The thin film transistor includes a gate electrode, a semiconductor layer, a gate-insulating layer provided between the gate electrode and the semiconductor layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively making contact with the semiconductor layer. The source electrode and the drain electrode respectively include a main layer containing aluminum or copper, a lower layer having a first layer containing refractory metal and positioned at a substrate side of the main layer, and an upper layer having a second layer containing refractory metal. The upper layer is provided so as to cover an upper surface of the main layer and at least the section of the side face of the main layer that overlaps the semiconductor layer.

Semiconductor device, display device, and method for producing semiconductor device

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an active matrix substrate manufacturing method includes: a step (a) of forming a thin film transistor on a substrate; a step (b) of forming an interlayer insulating layer covering the thin film transistor; a step (c) of forming a first electrode after the step (b); a step (d) of forming, after the step (c), a photospacer by applying a photosensitive resin material to the substrate and patterning the photosensitive resin material; and a step (e) of performing, after the step (d), plasma processing using a gas that contains a fluorine-based gas but does not contain oxygen gas.

Active matrix substrate manufacturing method, display apparatus manufacturing method, and display apparatus

This semiconductor device () includes a substrate () and a TFT which is provided on the substrate. The TFT includes a gate electrode (), an oxide semiconductor layer () which faces the gate electrode, source and drain electrodes () which are connected to the oxide semiconductor layer, and an insulating layer () which contacts at least partially with the source and drain electrodes. The insulating layer () includes a lower region () which contacts at least partially with the source and drain electrodes and an upper region () which is located over the lower region. The lower region () has a higher hydrogen content than the upper region ().

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same

A TFT () includes a semiconductor layer () of an oxide semiconductor, a source electrode () and a drain electrode () provided on the semiconductor layer () and separated from each other, a gate insulating film () covering a portion of the semiconductor layer between the source electrode () and the drain electrode (), a gate electrode () provided over the semiconductor layer () with the gate insulating film () being interposed between the gate electrode () and the semiconductor layer (). The source electrode () is integrally formed with the source line (). The gate electrode () is integrally formed with the gate line (). The semiconductor layer () extends below the source line (). The entireties of the source line (), the source electrode (), and the drain electrode () are provided on the semiconductor layer ().

Thin film transistor substrate and display device including the same, and method for manufacturing thin film transistor substrate

Provided is a thin film transistor manufacture method by which a thin film transistor provided with LDD regions can be produced without increasing the number of photo masks used. An etching stopper layer () formed on a polycrystalline silicon film () of a TFT () is used not only as a mask to protect a channel region () when a source electrode and a drain electrode are formed by etching, but also as a mask when ions are implanted to form a source/drain regions (). Thus, phosphorus, which is ion-implanted in the polycrystalline silicon film () to form the source/drain regions (), is not implanted in the LDD region () and, accordingly, it is not necessary to additionally form a resist pattern to be used as a mask when ions are implanted.

Thin-film transistor producing method

The present invention is intended to provide a glass substrate (), made of an insulating material, which can constitute a semiconductor apparatus () by transferring a single crystal silicon film () or a substrate including a semiconductor device onto a surface () of the insulating substrate, a transferred surface () being part of the surface (), the single crystal silicon film () capable of being provided on the transferred surface (), and the transferred surface () having an arithmetic mean roughness of not more than 0.4 nm.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Kazuhide Tomiyasu