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:
Jul. 30, 2002
Filed:
Feb. 22, 2001
Kazuhiro Imao, Gifu, JP;
Takashi Kuwahara, Ogaki, JP;
Yoshihiro Morimoto, Inazawa, JP;
Kiyoshi Yoneda, Gifu, JP;
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
Reflectance of a p-Si film crystallized by laser annealing is measured, a wave length dependency of the reflectance is found, and a first order rate of change is calculated to determine a minimum value near a wave length of 500 nm. The value is to be an inherent optical value under the laser power and relates to a grain size measured by Secco etching or the like. A number of correspondence between the optical value and the grain size are recorded and linearly plotted. By calculating the optical value from the reflectance in the p-Si film at in-line, the grain size is correspondingly determined. Thus, the semiconductor film can be in-line monitored, thereby improving a yield and saving a cost in producing a semiconductor device.