The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 08, 2002
Filed:
May. 26, 2000
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
An amorphous silicon film is deposited on a quartz substrate, and a metal of Ni is introduced into the amorphous silicon film so that the amorphous silicon film is crystallized. Phosphorus is ion-implanted with an oxide pattern used as a mask. A heating process is performed in a nitrogen atmosphere, by which Ni is gettered. A heating process is performed in an O atmosphere, by which Ni is gettered into the oxide. Like this, by performing the first gettering in a non-oxidative atmosphere, the Ni concentration can be reduced to such a level that oxidation does not cause any increase of irregularities or occurrence of pinholes. Thus, in a second gettering, enough oxidation can be effected without minding any increase of irregularities and occurrence of pinholes, so that the Ni concentration can be reduced to an extremely low level. Also, a high-quality crystalline silicon film free from surface irregularities and pinholes can be obtained.