The present invention relates to techniques for processing of films, and more particularly to location-controlled techniques for processing semiconductor films using a line-type beam so as to obtain a substantial uniformity of certain regions of the thin films in which microstructures (e.g., thin-film transistor “TFT” devices) can be situated.
Semiconductor films, such as silicon films, are known to be used for providing pixels for liquid crystal display devices. Certain prior art systems utilize line-type beams which are shaped to have a particular line-shape. An exemplary illustration of the line-type beam pulse 200, and a profile thereof are illustrated in
As shown in
It may be possible to reduce the non-uniformity of the irradiated sections of the thin film sample by maintaining the energy density of the line-type beam pulse 200 to be above the complete melting threshold. In particular, as shown in
It is conceivable to reduce the non-uniformity of the irradiated sections of the thin film sample by maintaining the energy density of the line-type beam pulse 200 to be below the complete melting threshold. In particular, as shown in
However, there are disadvantages to the use of these conventional methods. For example, when the irradiated areas of the thin film are required to be overlapped, the processing time of the entire sample is slow. This is because the sample is processed to ensure the reirradiation of significant parts of the previously irradiated areas of the thin film.
One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved process and system which irradiate at least one thin film section of the substrate using a line-type beam pulses so as to at least partially melt these sections, and without the irradiated areas being re-irradiated by the following beam pulses. In this manner, the melted sections of the thin film sections resolidify to form substantially uniform crystallized regions therein. Due to the uniformity of these regions of the resolidified thin film sections, it is possible to place the TFT devices in such regions. Thus, the TFT devices situated in such manner would likely have at least similar performance with respect to one another. Another object of the present invention is to continuously translate and irradiate one or more sections of the thin film sample (e.g., without stopping) such that the above-described uniformity is achieved in an accelerated manner.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a process and system for processing a semiconductor thin film sample, as well as at least one portion of the semiconductor thin film structure are provided. In particular, a beam generator can be controlled to emit successive irradiation beam pulses at a predetermined repetition rate. Each of the irradiation beam pulses can be shaped to define at least one line-type beam pulse, with the line-type beam pulses being provided for impinging the film sample. These line-type beam pulses can include at least one part which have an intensity sufficient to at least partially melt irradiated portions of the film sample. Thereafter, a first portion of the film sample is irradiated using a first one of the line-type beam pulses to at least partially melt the first portion, with the irradiated first portion being allowed to resolidify and crystallize. After the irradiation of the first portion of the film sample, a second portion of the film sample is irradiated using a second one of the line-type beam pulses to at least partially melt the second portion, with the irradiated second portion also being allowed to resolidify and crystallize. An emission of the second one of the line-type beam pulses may immediately follow an emission of the first one of the line-type beam pulses. A profile of each of the line-type beam pulses may includes a leading portion, a top portion and a trailing portion. For example, a section of the first portion impacted by the top portion of the first one of the line-type beam pulses may be prevented from being irradiated by trailing portion of the second one of the line-type beam pulses.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first portion of the film sample is irradiated by the top portion of the first one of the line-type beam pulses, wherein the second portion of the film sample is irradiated by the top portion of the second one of the line-type beam pulses. The top portion of each of the line-type beam pulses may have energy density which is above a complete melting threshold Each of the leading and trailing portions of the first one of the line-type beam pulses can irradiate a part of the first portion, and each of the leading and trailing portions of the second one of the line-type beam pulses can irradiate a part of the second portion. In addition, each of leading and trailing portions of the first and second ones of the line-type beam pulses may include first and second sections. Each of the first sections of the leading and trailing portions of the first and second ones of the line-type beam pulses may include an energy density which is sufficient to at least partially melt the respective first portion and/or the respective second portion. Also, each of the second sections of the leading and trailing portions of the first and second ones of the line-type beam pulses can have an energy density lower than a threshold level which is sufficient to at least partially melt the part of one of the respective first portion and the respective second portion. The second portion can be irradiated after the irradiation of the first portion and after the film sample is translated for a particular distance with respect to an impingement by the beam pulses of the first portion. The first section of the leading portion of the first one of the line-type beam pulses may have a first length, and the first section of the trailing portion of the second one of the line-type beam pulses can have a second length. The top portion may have a third length. The particular distance can be greater than the sum of the third length and of the larger one of the first and second lengths.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, data associated with locations on the film sample to be irradiated is received. Then, after the irradiation of the first portion and before the irradiation of the second portion, the film sample is translated for a particular distance with respect to an impingement by the beam pulses based on such received data. The irradiation beam pulses can be shaped by a mask to define the line-type beam pulses. In addition, the first and second ones of the line-type beam pulses can at least partially melt the respective first and second portions of the film sample. Furthermore, the film sample can be translated for the particular distance with respect to an impingement by the beam pulses in a periodic manner and also based on an irradiation frequency of the irradiation beam generator. Also, the first and second portions of the film sample can include pixel areas. In addition, the first and second portions can include areas, which are configured to situate thereon an active region of at least one thin-film transistor “TFT” device.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated and constitute part of this disclosure, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and serve to explain the principles of the invention.
It should be understood that various systems and methods according to the present invention can be utilized to at least partially melt, then solidify and crystallize one or more areas on a semiconductor thin film (e.g., silicon) using line-type beam pulses, while continuously translating the sample and without re-irradiating the previously irradiated and resolidified areas to generate substantially uniform regions on the thin film. The exemplary embodiments of the systems and process to generate such areas, as well as of the resulting crystallized semiconductor thin films shall be described in further detail below. However, it should be understood that the present invention is in no way limited to the exemplary embodiments of the systems, processes and semiconductor thin films described herein.
Certain systems for providing a continuous motion SLS are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/526,585 (the “'585 application”), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Substantially similar systems according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be employed to generate at least partially irradiated, solidified and crystallized portions of the semiconductor film described above in which it is possible to process the entire semiconductor thin film in a controlled and accelerated manner with a line-type beam. In particular, the system according to the present invention can be used on a sample 170 which has an amorphous thin film (e.g., silicon) thereon that is irradiated by irradiation beam pulses to promote the melting, subsequent solidification and crystallization of the particular areas of the semiconductor thin film. As shown in
The sample translation stage 180 is preferably controlled by the computing arrangement 100 to effectuate translations of the sample 170 in the planar X-Y directions, as well as in the Z direction. In this manner, the computing arrangement 100 controls the relative position of the sample 170 with respect to the irradiation beam pulse 164. The repetition and the energy density of the irradiation beam pulse 164 are also controlled by the computing arrangement 100. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that instead of the beam source 110 (e.g., the pulsed excimer laser), the irradiation beam pulse can be generated by another known source of short energy pulses suitable for at least partially melting (and possibly fully melting throughout their entire thickness) selected areas of the semiconductor (e.g., silicon) thin film of the sample 170 in the manner described herein below. Such known source can be a pulsed solid state laser, a chopped continuous wave laser, a pulsed electron beam and a pulsed ion beam, etc. Typically, the radiation beam pulses generated by the beam source 110 provide a beam intensity in the range of 10 mJ/cm2 to 1 J/cm2, a pulse duration (FWHM) in the range of 10 to 300 nsec, and a pulse repetition rate in the range of 10 Hz to 300 Hz.
While the computing arrangement 100, in the exemplary embodiment of the system shown in
As illustrated in
The semiconductor thin film 175 can be irradiated by the beam pulse 164 which can be shaped using the mask 150 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention as shown in
An example of such beam pulse 200 is shown in
A second exemplary profile of the beam pulse 200 is illustrated in
As shown in
Upon the irradiation and at least partial melting of such portions 511-519 using the top portion 205 of the profile 220′ of the embodiment shown in
After the first row 510 is irradiated and either partially or fully melted using the line-type pulse 410 as described above, the sample 170 is translated in the −Y direction (via a control of the computing arrangement 100) so that the beam 164 impinges on a second row 520 of the semiconductor thin film 175 provided on the sample 170. As for the first row 510 and upon reaching the second row 520, the beam source 110 is actuated by the computing arrangement 100 to generate a second line-type pulse 420 which irradiates and either at least partially or fully melts one or more sections 521-529 of the second row 520 in substantially the same manner as described above with respect to the irradiation of the first row 510. This translation of the sample 170 (so that the impingement of the line-type beam 164 moves from the first row 510 to the second row 520 of the semiconductor thin film 175) is executed for a distance D. The distance D can be also referred to a pixel row periodicity since the translation of the sample 170 via the distance D is performed for other rows of the sample 170.
It is preferable for this distance D to be pre-assigned such that the trailing portion 215′ of the second line-type pulse 520 does not overlap the leading portion 210′ of the first line-type pulse 510. For example, the distance D can be measured from a center of the top portion 205′ of the first pulse 410 to a center of the top portion 205′ of the second pulse 420. It is possible, however, to have certain sections of the trailing portion 215′ of the second line-type pulse 520 and of the leading portion 210 of the first line-type pulse 510 overlap one another. Such portions would preferably possess only the energy densities that are smaller than the crystallization threshold value. Thus, preferably, no portion of the subsequent pulse 200 of the profile 220′ should overlap the section of the thin film 175 irradiated by the top portion 205′ of the preceding pulse 200 of such profile for the exemplary embodiment of
If any subsequent irradiation on this irradiated section takes place, uniformity of this area may be compromised. Similarly, if the beam pulse 200 having the profile 220 of
The sample 170 can then again be translated for the distance D in the same manner as described above with respect to the translation of the sample 164 so as to irradiate the second row 520 of the semiconductor thin film 175. Upon such translation, the line-type beam 164 impinges the third row of the thin film 175, and irradiates and partially melts one or more portions thereof.
Thus, for the embodiment of
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the translation of the sample 170 with respect to the impingement thereof by the beam 164 is performed continuously (e.g., without stopping). The computing arrangement 100 can control the beam source 110 to generate the corresponding pulses 200 based on a predefined frequency. In this manner, it is possible to define the velocity V of the continuous translation of the sample 170 with respect to the impingement of the semiconductor thin film 175 by the line-type pulses 410, 420, so that the respective rows 510, 520 of the thin film 175 are accurately irradiated by the pulses. For example, this velocity V of the translation of the sample 170 can be defined as follows:
V=D×flaser
where flaser is the frequency of the laser. Thus, if the distance D is 200 μm and the flaser is 300 Hz, the velocity V can be approximately 6 cm/sec, which can be a constant velocity.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, while the sample 170 does not have to be continuously translated with respect to the impingement thereof by the beam 164, the actuation of the beam source 110 can be controlled based on a positional signal provided by the translation stage 180. This signal may indicate the position of the sample 170 relative to the position of the impingement thereof by the line-type beam 164. Based on the data associated with such signal, the computing arrangement 100 can direct the actuation of the beam source 110 and the translation to the sample 170 to achieve an effective irradiation of specific portions (e.g., rows) of the semiconductor thin film 170. Thus, the location controlled irradiation of at least portions of the semiconductor thin film 175 can be achieved using a line-type beam 164.
The description above for the line-type beam 164 has been directed to a Gaussian-shaped beam pulse, the examples of which is illustrated in
It should be understood that the above description is equally applicable for all portions 511-519, 521-529, etc. of the semiconductor thin film 175. In addition, the above placement of the active regions 618, 628, 618′, 628′ within the portions 511-19, 521-529, etc. is possible due to the uniformity achieved using the exemplary system and process according to the present invention described herein.
Various other optical components of the system are adjusted and/or aligned either manually or under the control of the computing arrangement 100 for a proper focus and alignment in step 1015, if necessary. In step 1020, the irradiation/laser beam 111 is stabilized at a predetermined pulse energy level, pulse duration and repetition rate. In step 1024, it is preferably determined whether each beam pulse 164 has sufficient energy to at least partially melt (and preferably fully melt) the irradiated portions of the semiconductor thin film 175 without overheating. If that is not the case, the attenuation of the beam 111 is adjusted by the beams source 110 under the control of the computing arrangement 100 in step 1025, and step 1024 is executed again to determine if the there is sufficient energy to at least partially melt the portions of the semiconductor thin film 175.
In step 1027, the sample 170 is positioned to point the pulse 410 of the line-type beam 164 to impinge the first row 510 of the semiconductor thin film 175. Then, in step 1030, the respective row of the semiconductor thin film 175 is irradiated and at least partially melted using a masked intensity pattern (e.g., using the mask 150 illustrated in
Using the system and process according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a significantly greater crystallization rate over that of the conventional systems and processes. This crystallization rate is provided as follows:
Crystallization Rate=Beam Length×Frequency of Laser×Pitch
For example, the crystallization rate effectuated by conventional system and process is:
50 cm×20 μm×300 Hz=30 cm2/sec (for a 20 shot process)
In contrast, the crystallization rate afforded by the system and process according to the present invention is:
50 cm×300 μm×300 Hz=450 cm2/sec.
The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. For example, while the above embodiment has been described with respect to at least partial or full solidification and crystallization of the semiconductor thin film, it may apply to other materials processing techniques, such as micro-machining, photo-ablation, and micro-patterning techniques, including those described in International patent application no. PCT/US01/12799 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/390,535, 09/390,537 and 09/526,585, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The various mask patterns and intensity beam patterns described in the above-referenced patent application can also be utilized with the process and system of the present invention so long as a line-type beam pulses are generated. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems and methods which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the invention and are thus within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This application is a continuation of International Application Serial No. PCT/US04/030330, filed Sep. 16, 2004, published Mar. 31, 2005, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/503,361, filed Sep. 16, 2003, each of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein, and from which priority is claimed.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3632205 | Marcy | Jan 1972 | A |
4187126 | Radd et al. | Feb 1980 | A |
4234358 | Celler et al. | Nov 1980 | A |
4309225 | Fan et al. | Jan 1982 | A |
4382658 | Shields et al. | May 1983 | A |
4456371 | Lin | Jun 1984 | A |
4514895 | Nishimura | May 1985 | A |
4639277 | Hawkins | Jan 1987 | A |
4691983 | Kobayashi et al. | Sep 1987 | A |
4727047 | Bozler et al. | Feb 1988 | A |
4758533 | Magee et al. | Jul 1988 | A |
4793694 | Liu | Dec 1988 | A |
4800179 | Mukai | Jan 1989 | A |
4804978 | Tracy | Feb 1989 | A |
4855014 | Kakimoto et al. | Aug 1989 | A |
4870031 | Sugahara et al. | Sep 1989 | A |
4940505 | Schachameyer et al. | Jul 1990 | A |
4970546 | Suzuki et al. | Nov 1990 | A |
4976809 | Broadbent | Dec 1990 | A |
4977104 | Sawada et al. | Dec 1990 | A |
5032233 | Yu et al. | Jul 1991 | A |
5061655 | Ipposhi et al. | Oct 1991 | A |
5076667 | Stewart et al. | Dec 1991 | A |
RE33836 | Resor, III et al. | Mar 1992 | E |
5095473 | Gotoh | Mar 1992 | A |
5145808 | Sameshima et al. | Sep 1992 | A |
5173441 | Yu et al. | Dec 1992 | A |
5204659 | Sarma | Apr 1993 | A |
5233207 | Anzai | Aug 1993 | A |
5247375 | Mochizuki et al. | Sep 1993 | A |
5281840 | Sarma | Jan 1994 | A |
5285236 | Jain | Feb 1994 | A |
5291240 | Jain | Mar 1994 | A |
5294811 | Aoyama et al. | Mar 1994 | A |
5304357 | Sato et al. | Apr 1994 | A |
5338959 | Kim et al. | Aug 1994 | A |
5373803 | Noguchi et al. | Dec 1994 | A |
5395481 | McCarthy | Mar 1995 | A |
5409867 | Asano | Apr 1995 | A |
5413958 | Imahashi et al. | May 1995 | A |
5417897 | Asakawa et al. | May 1995 | A |
5432122 | Chae | Jul 1995 | A |
5436095 | Mizuno et al. | Jul 1995 | A |
5453594 | Konecny | Sep 1995 | A |
5456763 | Kaschmitter et al. | Oct 1995 | A |
5466908 | Hosoya et al. | Nov 1995 | A |
5496768 | Kudo | Mar 1996 | A |
5512494 | Tanabe | Apr 1996 | A |
5523193 | Nelson | Jun 1996 | A |
5529951 | Noguchi et al. | Jun 1996 | A |
5534716 | Takemura | Jul 1996 | A |
5591668 | Maegawa et al. | Jan 1997 | A |
5614421 | Yang | Mar 1997 | A |
5614426 | Funada et al. | Mar 1997 | A |
5616506 | Takemura | Apr 1997 | A |
5620910 | Teramoto | Apr 1997 | A |
5643801 | Ishihara et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
5663579 | Noguchi | Sep 1997 | A |
5683935 | Miyamoto | Nov 1997 | A |
5696388 | Funada et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
5710050 | Makita et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
5719617 | Takahashi et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
5721606 | Jain | Feb 1998 | A |
5736709 | Neiheisel | Apr 1998 | A |
5742426 | York | Apr 1998 | A |
5756364 | Tanaka et al. | May 1998 | A |
5766989 | Maegawa et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
5767003 | Noguchi | Jun 1998 | A |
5817548 | Noguchi et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
5844588 | Anderson | Dec 1998 | A |
5846678 | Nishigori et al. | Dec 1998 | A |
5858807 | Kawamura | Jan 1999 | A |
5861991 | Fork | Jan 1999 | A |
5893990 | Tanaka | Apr 1999 | A |
5948291 | Neylan et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
5960323 | Wakita | Sep 1999 | A |
5981974 | Makita | Nov 1999 | A |
5986807 | Fork | Nov 1999 | A |
6002523 | Tanaka | Dec 1999 | A |
6014944 | Russell et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
6020224 | Shimogaichi et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
6045980 | Edelkind et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
6072631 | Guenther et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6081319 | Ozawa et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6081381 | Shalapenok et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6093934 | Yamazaki et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
6117301 | Freudenberger et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
6117752 | Suzuki | Sep 2000 | A |
6120976 | Treadwell et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
6130009 | Smith et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
6130455 | Yoshinouchi | Oct 2000 | A |
6136632 | Higashi | Oct 2000 | A |
6156997 | Yamazaki et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
6162711 | Ma et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
6169014 | McCulloch | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6172820 | Kuwahara | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6176922 | Aklufi et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6177301 | Jung | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6184490 | Schweizer | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6187088 | Okumura | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6190985 | Buynoski | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6193796 | Yang | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6194023 | Mitsuhashi et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6198141 | Yamazaki et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6203952 | O'Brien et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6222195 | Yamada et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6235614 | Yang | May 2001 | B1 |
6242291 | Kusumoto et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6255146 | Shimizu et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6274488 | Talwar et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
6285001 | Fleming et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
6300175 | Moon | Oct 2001 | B1 |
6313435 | Shoemaker et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6316338 | Jung | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6320227 | Lee et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6322625 | Im | Nov 2001 | B2 |
6326286 | Park et al. | Dec 2001 | B1 |
6333232 | Kunikiyo | Dec 2001 | B1 |
6341042 | Matsunaka et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6348990 | Igasaki et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
6353218 | Yamazaki et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
6358784 | Zhang et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
6368945 | Im | Apr 2002 | B1 |
6388146 | Onishi et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
6388386 | Kunii et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
6392810 | Tanaka | May 2002 | B1 |
6393042 | Tanaka | May 2002 | B1 |
6407012 | Miyasaka et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
6410373 | Chang et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
6429100 | Yoneda | Aug 2002 | B2 |
6432758 | Cheng et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6437284 | Okamoto et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6444506 | Kusumoto et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6445359 | Ho | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6448612 | Miyazaki et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6451631 | Grigoropoulos et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6455359 | Yamazaki et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6468845 | Nakajima et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
6471772 | Tanaka | Oct 2002 | B1 |
6472684 | Yamazaki et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
6476447 | Yamazaki et al. | Nov 2002 | B1 |
6479837 | Ogawa et al. | Nov 2002 | B1 |
6482722 | Kunii et al. | Nov 2002 | B2 |
6493042 | Bozdagi et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
6495067 | Ono | Dec 2002 | B1 |
6495405 | Voutsas et al. | Dec 2002 | B2 |
6501095 | Yamaguchi et al. | Dec 2002 | B2 |
6504175 | Mei et al. | Jan 2003 | B1 |
6506636 | Yamazaki et al. | Jan 2003 | B2 |
6511718 | Paz de Araujo et al. | Jan 2003 | B1 |
6512634 | Tanaka | Jan 2003 | B2 |
6516009 | Tanaka | Feb 2003 | B1 |
6521473 | Jung | Feb 2003 | B1 |
6521492 | Miyasaka et al. | Feb 2003 | B2 |
6526585 | Hill | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6528359 | Kusumoto et al. | Mar 2003 | B2 |
6531681 | Markle et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6535535 | Yamazaki et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6555422 | Yamazaki et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
6555449 | Im et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
6562701 | Ishida et al. | May 2003 | B2 |
6563077 | Im | May 2003 | B2 |
6573163 | Voutsas et al. | Jun 2003 | B2 |
6573531 | Im et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
6577380 | Sposili et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
6582827 | Im | Jun 2003 | B1 |
6590228 | Voutsas et al. | Jul 2003 | B2 |
6599790 | Yamazaki et al. | Jul 2003 | B1 |
6602765 | Jiroku et al. | Aug 2003 | B2 |
6608326 | Shinagawa et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
6621044 | Jain et al. | Sep 2003 | B2 |
6635554 | Im et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
6635932 | Grigoropoulos et al. | Oct 2003 | B2 |
6660575 | Zhang | Dec 2003 | B1 |
6667198 | Shimoto et al. | Dec 2003 | B2 |
6693258 | Sugano et al. | Feb 2004 | B2 |
6734635 | Kunii et al. | May 2004 | B2 |
6741621 | Asano | May 2004 | B2 |
6744069 | Yamazaki et al. | Jun 2004 | B1 |
6746942 | Sato et al. | Jun 2004 | B2 |
6750424 | Tanaka | Jun 2004 | B2 |
6755909 | Jung | Jun 2004 | B2 |
6767804 | Crowder | Jul 2004 | B2 |
6770545 | Yang | Aug 2004 | B2 |
6777276 | Crowder et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
6784455 | Maekawa et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
6830993 | Im et al. | Dec 2004 | B1 |
6858477 | Deane et al. | Feb 2005 | B2 |
6861328 | Hara et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
6908835 | Sposili et al. | Jun 2005 | B2 |
6916690 | Chang | Jul 2005 | B2 |
6961117 | Im | Nov 2005 | B2 |
6962860 | Yamazaki et al. | Nov 2005 | B2 |
7049184 | Tanabe | May 2006 | B2 |
7091411 | Falk et al. | Aug 2006 | B2 |
7119365 | Takafuji et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
7164152 | Im | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7172952 | Chung | Feb 2007 | B2 |
7183229 | Yamanaka | Feb 2007 | B2 |
7187016 | Arima | Mar 2007 | B2 |
7192479 | Mitani et al. | Mar 2007 | B2 |
7192818 | Lee et al. | Mar 2007 | B1 |
7199397 | Huang et al. | Apr 2007 | B2 |
7217605 | Kawasaki et al. | May 2007 | B2 |
7259081 | Im | Aug 2007 | B2 |
7297982 | Suzuki et al. | Nov 2007 | B2 |
7300858 | Im | Nov 2007 | B2 |
7311778 | Im et al. | Dec 2007 | B2 |
7318866 | Im | Jan 2008 | B2 |
7319056 | Im et al. | Jan 2008 | B2 |
7326876 | Jung | Feb 2008 | B2 |
7341928 | Im | Mar 2008 | B2 |
7364952 | Im | Apr 2008 | B2 |
7384476 | You | Jun 2008 | B2 |
7507645 | You | Mar 2009 | B2 |
7560321 | Kato et al. | Jul 2009 | B2 |
7645337 | Im | Jan 2010 | B2 |
7700462 | Tanaka et al. | Apr 2010 | B2 |
7804647 | Mitani et al. | Sep 2010 | B2 |
20010001745 | Im et al. | May 2001 | A1 |
20010029089 | Tanaka | Oct 2001 | A1 |
20010030292 | Brotherton | Oct 2001 | A1 |
20010041426 | Im | Nov 2001 | A1 |
20020083557 | Jung | Jul 2002 | A1 |
20020096680 | Sugano et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
20020104750 | Ito | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20020119609 | Hatano et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20020130279 | Jain et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
20020151115 | Nakajima et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
20020197778 | Kasahara et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
20030000455 | Voutsas | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20030003242 | Voutsas | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20030006221 | Hong et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20030013278 | Jang et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20030014337 | Mathews et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20030022471 | Taketomi et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20030029212 | Im | Feb 2003 | A1 |
20030042430 | Tanaka et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
20030057418 | Asano | Mar 2003 | A1 |
20030060026 | Yamazaki et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
20030068836 | Hongo et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
20030089907 | Yamaguchi et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
20030096489 | Im et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
20030119286 | Im et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
20030123051 | McGrew | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20030148565 | Yamanaka | Aug 2003 | A1 |
20030148594 | Yamazaki et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
20030194613 | Voutsas et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20030196589 | Mitani et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20040040938 | Yamazaki et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20040041158 | Hongo et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20040053450 | Sposili et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20040061843 | Im | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20040127066 | Jung | Jul 2004 | A1 |
20040140470 | Kawasaki et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
20040169176 | Peterson et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
20040182838 | Das et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
20040209447 | Gosain et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
20040222187 | Lin | Nov 2004 | A1 |
20040224487 | Yang | Nov 2004 | A1 |
20050003591 | Takaoka et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
20050032249 | Im et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
20050034653 | Im et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
20050059224 | Im | Mar 2005 | A1 |
20050059265 | Im | Mar 2005 | A1 |
20050112906 | Maekawa et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
20050139830 | Takeda et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050141580 | Partlo et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050142450 | Jung | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050142451 | You | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050202654 | Im | Sep 2005 | A1 |
20050235903 | Im | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20050236908 | Rivin | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20060030164 | Im | Feb 2006 | A1 |
20060035478 | You | Feb 2006 | A1 |
20060040512 | Im | Feb 2006 | A1 |
20060102901 | Im et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
20060125741 | Tanaka et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
20060211183 | Duan et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
20060254500 | Im et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20070007242 | Im | Jan 2007 | A1 |
20070010074 | Im | Jan 2007 | A1 |
20070010104 | Im | Jan 2007 | A1 |
20070020942 | Im | Jan 2007 | A1 |
20070032096 | Im | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20070051302 | Gosain et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
20070108472 | Jeong et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
20070111349 | Im | May 2007 | A1 |
20070184638 | Kang et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070215942 | Chen et al. | Sep 2007 | A1 |
20080035863 | Im et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
20080124526 | Im | May 2008 | A1 |
20080176414 | Im | Jul 2008 | A1 |
20090001523 | Im | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20090045181 | Im | Feb 2009 | A1 |
20090137105 | Im | May 2009 | A1 |
20090173948 | Im et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090189164 | Im et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090218577 | Im | Sep 2009 | A1 |
20090242805 | Im | Oct 2009 | A1 |
20090309104 | Im | Dec 2009 | A1 |
20100024865 | Shah et al. | Feb 2010 | A1 |
20100032586 | Im et al. | Feb 2010 | A1 |
20100065853 | Im | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20100099273 | Im | Apr 2010 | A1 |
20100197147 | Im | Aug 2010 | A1 |
20100233888 | Im | Sep 2010 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
19839718 | Mar 2000 | DE |
10103670 | Aug 2002 | DE |
681316 | Aug 1995 | EP |
655774 | Jul 1996 | EP |
1067593 | Oct 2001 | EP |
2338342 | Dec 1999 | GB |
2338343 | Dec 1999 | GB |
2338597 | Dec 1999 | GB |
S57-027035 | Feb 1982 | JP |
S62-160781 | Jul 1987 | JP |
62181419 | Aug 1987 | JP |
S62-216320 | Sep 1987 | JP |
H01-256114 | Oct 1989 | JP |
H02-081422 | Mar 1990 | JP |
2283036 | Nov 1990 | JP |
04033327 | Feb 1992 | JP |
H04-167419 | Jun 1992 | JP |
4279064 | Oct 1992 | JP |
H04-282869 | Oct 1992 | JP |
5 041519 | Feb 1993 | JP |
H05-048190 | Feb 1993 | JP |
06-011729 | Jan 1994 | JP |
6252048 | Sep 1994 | JP |
H06-260502 | Sep 1994 | JP |
6283422 | Oct 1994 | JP |
7176757 | Jul 1995 | JP |
H08-078330 | Mar 1996 | JP |
H09-007968 | Jan 1997 | JP |
1997-171971 | Jun 1997 | JP |
H09-270393 | Sep 1997 | JP |
9260681 | Oct 1997 | JP |
9321310 | Dec 1997 | JP |
10 189998 | Jul 1998 | JP |
H10-244390 | Sep 1998 | JP |
11064883 | Mar 1999 | JP |
11281997 | Oct 1999 | JP |
H11-297852 | Oct 1999 | JP |
11330000 | Nov 1999 | JP |
2000-223425 | Aug 2000 | JP |
2000-315652 | Nov 2000 | JP |
2000-346618 | Dec 2000 | JP |
2001023920 | Jan 2001 | JP |
2002-203809 | Jul 2002 | JP |
2002-353142 | Dec 2002 | JP |
2002-353159 | Dec 2002 | JP |
2003-031496 | Jan 2003 | JP |
2003-100653 | Apr 2003 | JP |
2003-523723 | Aug 2003 | JP |
2004-031809 | Jan 2004 | JP |
2000-0053428 | Aug 2000 | KR |
464960 | Nov 2001 | TW |
564465 | Dec 2003 | TW |
569350 | Jan 2004 | TW |
9745827 | Dec 1997 | WO |
9824118 | Jun 1998 | WO |
9931719 | Jun 1999 | WO |
0014784 | Mar 2000 | WO |
0118854 | Mar 2001 | WO |
0118855 | Mar 2001 | WO |
0171786 | Sep 2001 | WO |
WO0171791 | Sep 2001 | WO |
WO 0173769 | Oct 2001 | WO |
WO 0197266 | Dec 2001 | WO |
0231869 | Apr 2002 | WO |
0242847 | May 2002 | WO |
0286954 | May 2002 | WO |
02086955 | Oct 2002 | WO |
03018882 | Mar 2003 | WO |
03046965 | Jun 2003 | WO |
03084688 | Oct 2003 | WO |
2004017379 | Feb 2004 | WO |
2004017380 | Feb 2004 | WO |
2004017381 | Feb 2004 | WO |
2004017382 | Feb 2004 | WO |
2004075263 | Sep 2004 | WO |
WO 2004030328 | Sep 2004 | WO |
WO2005029546 | Mar 2005 | WO |
WO2005029548 | Mar 2005 | WO |
WO 2005029549 | Mar 2005 | WO |
WO2005029550 | Mar 2005 | WO |
WO2005029551 | Mar 2005 | WO |
WO 2006055003 | May 2006 | WO |
Entry |
---|
U.S. Appl. No. 10/524,809—Notice of Allowance mailed on Nov. 18, 2009. |
U.S. Appl. No. 12/708,307—Filed Continuation of U.S. Appl. No. 10/524,809 on Feb. 18, 2010. |
U.S. Appl. No. 12/708,307, Nov. 10, 2010, Notice of Allowance. |
Bergmann et al., “The future of crystalline silicon films on foreign substrates,” Thin Solid Films 403-404 (2002) 162-169. |
U.S. Appl. No. 13/019,042, filed Feb. 1, 2011. |
Jeon et al., “New Excimer Laser Recrystallization of Poly-Si for Effective Grain Growth and Grain Boundary Arrangement,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. vol. 39 (2000) pp. 2010-2014, Apr. 2000. |
U.S. Appl. No. 12/708,307, Sep. 27, 2010, Preliminary Amendment. |
U.S. Appl. No. 12/708,307, Oct. 7, 2010, Notice of Allowance. |
Gosain et al. Formation of (100)-Textured Si Film Using an Excimer Laser on a Glass Substrate, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 42 (2003) pp. L135-L137. |
U.S. Appl. No. 10/524,809—Sep. 3, 2009; Response to Non-Final Rejection. |
U.S. Appl. No. 10/524,809—Aug. 12, 2009; Examiner Interview (Summary). |
U.S. Appl. No. 10/524,809—May 7, 2009; Non-Final Rejection. |
U.S. Appl. No. 10/524,809—Feb. 6, 2009; Response to Non-Final Rejection. |
U.S. Appl. No. 10/524,809—Sep. 17, 2008; Non-Final Rejection. |
van der Wilt et al., “A hybrid approach for obtaining orientation-controlled single-crystal Si regions on glass substrates”, Proc. of SPIE vol. 6106, 61060B-1-B-15, (2006) XP009151485. |
U.S. Appl. No. 60/253,256, filed Aug. 31, 2003, Im. |
Im et al., “Controlled Super-Lateral Growth of Si Films for Microstructural Manipulation and Optimization”, Phys. Stat. Sol. (a), vol. 166, p. 603 (1998). |
S.D. Brotherton et al., “Influence of Melt Depth in Laser Crystallized Poly-Si Thin Film Transistors,” 82 J. Appl. Phys. 4086 (1997). |
J.S. Im et al., “Crystalline Si Films for Integrated Active-Matrix Liquid-Crystals Displays,” 21 MRS Bulletin 39 (1996). |
Im et al., “Single-Crystal Si Films for Thin-Film Transistor Devices,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 70 (25), p. 3434 (1997). |
Sposili et al., “Sequential Lateral Solidification of Thin Silicon Films on SiO2”, Appl, Phys. Lett., vol. 69 (19), p. 2864 (1996). |
Crowder et al., “Low-Temperature Single-Crystal Si TFT's Fabricated on Si Films processed via Sequential Lateral Solidification”, IEEE Electron Device Letter, vol. 19 (8), p. 306 (1998). |
Sposili et al., “Single-Crystal Si Films via a Low-Substrate-Temperature Excimer-Laser Crystallization Method”, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. vol. 452, pp. 953-958, 1997 Materials Reasearch Society. |
C. E. Nebel, “Laser Interference Structuring of A-SI:h” Amorphous Silicon Technology—1996, San Francisco, CA Apr. 8-12, 1996, Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, vol. 420, Pittsburgh, PA. |
J. H. Jeon et al., “Two-step laser recrystallization of poly-Si for effective control of grain boundaries”, Journal of Non Crystalline Solids, North-Holland Publishing Company, NL, vol. 266-269, May 2000, pp. 645-649. |
H. Endert et al., “Excimer Laser: A New Tool for Precision Micromaching,” 27 Optical and Quantum Electronics, 1319 (1995). |
“Overview of Beam Delivery Systems for Excimer Lasers,” Micro/Las Lasersystem GMBH. 1999. |
K.H. Weiner et al., “Ultrashallow Junction Formation Using Projection Gas Immersion Laser Doping (PGILD),” A Verdant Technologies Technical Brief, Aug. 20, 1997. |
Hau-Riege C.S. et al., “The Effects Microstructural Transitions at Width Transitions on interconnect reliabity,” Journal of Applied Physics, Jun. 15, 2000, vol. 87, No. 12, pp. 8467-8472. |
McWilliams et al., “Wafer-Scale Laser Pantography: Fabrication of N-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Transistors and Small-Scale Integrated Circuits by Direct-Write Laser-Induced Pyrolytic Reactions,” Applied Physics Letters, American Institute of Physics, New York, US, vol. 43, No. 10, Nov. 1983, pp. 946-948. |
Mariucci et al., “Grain boundary location control by patterned metal film in excimer laser crystallized polysilicon,” Proceedings of the Figth International COnference on Polycrystalline Semiconductors, Schwabisch Gmund, Germany, Sep. 13-18, 1998, vol. 67-68, pp. 175-180. |
Broadbent et al., “Excimer Laser Processing of Al-1%Cu/TiW Interconnect Layers,” 1989 Proceedings, Sixth International IEEE VLSI Multilevel Interconnection COnference, Santa Clara, CA, Jun. 12-13, 1989, pp. 336-345. |
H.J. Kim and James S. Im, “Grain Boundary Location-Controlled Poly-Si Films for TFT Devices Obtained Via Novel Excimer Laser Process,” Abstracts for Symposium of Materials Research Society, Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, 1994, p. 230. |
S.D. Brotherton, “Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Film Transistors,” 10 Semicond. Sci. Tech., pp. 721-738 (1995). |
H. Watanabe et al., “Crystallization Process of Polycrystalline Silicon by KrF Excimer Laser Annealing,” 33 Japanese J. of Applied Physics Part 1—Regular Papers Short Notes & Review Papers, pp. 4491-4498 (1994). |
E. Fogarassy et al., “Pulsed Laser Crystallization of Hydrogen-Free a-Si Thin Films for High-Mobility Poly-Si TFT Fabrication,” 56 Applied Physics A—Solids and Surfaces, pp. 365-373 (1993). |
Y. Miyata et al, “Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-Film Transistors for Large-Area Liquid Crystal Display,” 31 Japanese J. of Applied Physics Part 1—Regular Papers Short Notes & Review Papers, pp. 4559-4562 (1992). |
Im et al., “Phase Transformation Mechanisms Involved in Excimer Laser Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Films,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 63 (14), p. 1969 (1993). |
Im et al., “On the Super Lateral Growth Phenomenon Observed in Excimer Laser-Induced Crystallization of Thin Si Films,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 64 (17), p. 2303 (1994). |
Brochure from MicroLas Lasersystem, GmbH, “UV Optics Systems for Excimer Laser Based Micromaching and Marking”. 1999. |
Ishida et al., “Ultra-shallow boxlike profiles fabricated by pulsed ultraviolet-laser doping process”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 12(1), p. 399-403, 1994. (No month). |
Yoshimoto, et al., “Excimer-Laser-Produced and Two-Dimensionally Position-Controlled Giant Si Grains on Organic SOG Underlayer”, p. 285-286, AM-LCD 2000. No month. |
Ozawa et al., “Two-Dimensionally Position-Controlled Exicer-Laser-Crystallization of Silicon Thin Films on Glassy Substrate”, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. vol. 38, Part 1, No. 10, p. 5700-5705, (1999). No month. |
I.W. Boyd, Laser Processing of Thin Films and Microstructures, Oxidation, Deposition, and Etching of Insulators (Springer—Verlag Berlin Heidelber 1987). |
N. Yamamuchi and R. Reif, Journal of Applied Physics, “Polycrystalline silicon thin films processed with silicon ion implantation and subsequent solid-phase crystallization: Theory, experiments, and thin-film transistor applications”—Apr. 1, 1994-vol. 75, Issue 7, pp. 3235-3257. |
T. Noguchi, “Appearance of Single-Crystalline Properties in Fine-Patterned Si Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) by Solid Phase Crystallization (SPC),” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. vol. 32 (1993) L1584-L1587. |
Ishihara et al., “A Novel Double-Pulse Exicem-Laser Crystallization Method of Silicon Thin-Films,” Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Publication Office Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Tokyo, Japan, vol. 34, No. 8A, Aug. 1995, pp. 3976-3981. |
Kim, H. J., “Excimer-Laser-Induced Crystallization of Amorophus Silicon Thin Films”, Ph. D. Dissertation Abstract, Columbia University, 1996. |
Bergmann, R. et al., Nucleation and Growth of Crystalline Silicon Films on Glass for Solar Cells, Phys. Stat. Sol., 1998, pp. 587-602, vol. 166, Germany. |
Biegelsen, D.K., L.E. Fennell and J.C. Zesch, Origin of oriented crystal growth of radiantly melted silicon on SiO/sub 2, Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 546 (1984). |
Boyd, Laser Processing of Thin Films and Microstructures, Oxidation, Deposition, and Etching of Insulators (Springer—Verlag Berlin Heidelber 1987). |
Brotherton, S.D., et al., Characterisation of poly-Si TFTs in Directionally Solidified SLS Si, Asia Display/IDS'01, p. 387-390. |
Crowder et al., “Parametric investigation of SLS-processed poly-silicon thin films for TFT application,” Preparations and Characterization, Elsevier, Sequoia, NL, vol. 427, No. 1-2, Mar. 3, 2003, pp. 101-107, XP004417451. |
Crowder et al., “Sequential Lateral Solidification of PECVD and Sputter Deposited a-Si Films”, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 621:Q.9.7.1-9.7.6, 2000. |
Dassow, R. et al. Laser-Crystallized Polycrystalline Silicon on Glass for Photovoltaic Applications, Solid State Phenomena, pp. 193-198, vols. 67-68, Scitec Publications, Switzerland. |
Dassow, R. et al. Nd:YVO4 Laser Crystallization for Thin Film Transistors with a High Mobility, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 2000, Q9.3.1-Q9.3.6, vol. 621, Materials Research Society. |
Dassow, R. et al., Laser crystallization of silicon for high-performance thin-film transistors, Semicond. Sci. Technol., 2000, pp. L31-L34, vol. 15, UK. |
Dimitriadis, C.A., J. Stoemenos, P.A. Coxon, S. Friligkos, J. Antonopoulos and N.A. Economou, Effect of pressure on the growth of crystallites of low-pressure chemical-vapor-deposited polycrystalline silicon films and the effective electron mobility under high normal field in thin-film transistors, J. Appl. Phys. 73, 8402 (1993). |
Geis et al., “Crystallographic orientation of silicon on an amorphous substrate using an artificial surface-relief grating and laser crystallization,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 35(1) Jul. 1, 1979, 71-74. |
Geis et al., “Silicon graphoepitaxy using a strip-heater oven,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 37(5), Sep. 1, 1980, 454-456. |
Geis et al., “Zone-Melting recrystallization of SI Films with a moveable-strip heater oven” J. Electro-Chem. Soc., 129: 2812 (1982). |
Gupta et al., “Numerical Analysis of Excimer-laser induced melting and solidification of Si Thin Films”, Applied Phys. Lett., 71:99, 1997. |
Hau-Reige et al., “Microstructural Evolution Induced by Scanned Laser Annealing in Al Interconnects,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 75, No. 10, p. 1464-1466, 1999. |
Hawkins, W.G. et al., “Origin of lamellae in radiatively melted silicon films,” appl. Phys. Lett. 42(4), Feb. 15, 1983. |
Hayzelden, C. and J.L. Batstone, Silicide formation and silicide-mediated crystallization of nickel-implanted amorphous silicon thin films, J. Appl. Phys. 73, 8279 (1993). |
Im, J.S., Method and system for producing crystalline thin films with a uniform crystalline orientation, U.S. Appl. No. 60/503,419; ref. file # 36013(BB); Columbia ref. M02-063. |
Jung, Y.H., et al., Low Temperature Polycrystalline Si TFTs Fabricated with Directionally Crystallized Si Film, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. vol. 621, Z8.3.1-6, 2000. |
Jung, Y.H., et al., The Dependence of Poly-Si TFT Characteristics on the Relative Misorientation Between Grain Boundaries and the Active Channel, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. vol. 621, Q9.14.1-6, 2000. |
Kahlert, H., “Creating Crystals”, OE Magazine, Nov. 2001, 33-35. |
Kim, C. et al., Development of SLS-Based SOG Display, IDMC 2005, Thu-15-02, 252-255. |
Kim, H. J. et al., “Excimer Laser Induced Crystallization of Thin Amorphous Si Films on SiO2: Implications of Crystallized Microstructures for Phase Transformation Mechanisms,” Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., vol. 283, 1993. |
Kim, H.J. et al., “New Excimer-laser-crystallization method for producing large-grained and grain boundary-location-controlled Si Films for Thin Film Transistors”, Applied Phys. Lett., 68: 1513. |
Kim, H.J. et al., “Multiple Pulse Irradiation Effects in Excimer Laser-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Si Films,” Mat. Res. Soc. Sym. Proc., 321:665-670 (1994). |
Kim, H.-J., et al., “The effects of dopants on surface-energy-driven secondary grain growth in silicon films,” J. Appl. Phys. 67 (2), Jan. 15, 1990. |
Kimura, M. and K. Egami, Influence of as-deposited film structure on (100) texture in laser-recrystallized silicon on fused quartz, Appl. Phys. Lett. 44, 420 (1984). |
Knowles, D.S. et al., “P-59: Thin Beam Crystallization Method: a New Laser Annealing Tool with Lower Cost and Higher Yield for LTPS Panels,” SID 00 Digest, pp. 1-3 , 2005. |
Kohler, J.R. et al., Large-grained polycrystalline silicon on glass by copper vapor laser annealing. Thin Solid Films, 1999, pp. 129-132, vol. 337, Elsevier. |
Kung, K.T.Y. and R. Reif, Implant-dose dependence of grain size and (110) texture enhancements in polycrystalline Si films by seed selection through ion channeling, J. Appl. Phys. 59, 2422 (1986). |
Kung, K.T.Y., R.B. Iverson and R. Reif, Seed selection through ion channeling to modify crystallographic orientations of polycrystalline Si films on SiO/sub 2/:Implant angle dependence, Appl. Phys. Lett. 46, 683 (1985). |
Kuriyama, H., T. Nohda, S. Ishida, T. Kuwahara, S. Noguchi, S. Kiyama, S. Tsuda and S. Nakano, Lateral grain growth of poly-Si films with a specific orientation by an excimer laser annealing method, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 32, 6190 (1993). |
Kuriyama, H., T. Nohda, Y. Aya, T. Kuwahara, K. Wakisaka, S. Kiyama and S. Tsuda, Comprehensive study of lateral grain growth in poly-Si films by excimer laser annealing and its application to thin film transistors, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 33, 5657 (1994). |
Lee, S.-W. and S.-K. Joo, Low temperature poly-Si thin-film transistor fabrication by metal-induced lateral crystallization, IEEE Electron Device Letters 17, 160 (1996). |
Lee, S.-W., Y.-C. Jeon and S.-K. Joo, Pd induced lateral crystallization of amorphous Si thin films, Appl. Phys. Lett. 66, 1671 (1995). |
Leonard, J.P. et al, “Stochastic modeling of solid nucleation in supercooled liquids”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 78:22, May 28, 2001, 3454-3456. |
Limanov, A. et al., Single-Axis Projection Scheme for Conducting Sequential Lateral Solidification of Si Films for Large-Area Electronics, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 2001, D10.1.1-D10.1.7, vol. 685E, Materials Research Society. |
Limanov, A. et al., The Study of Silicon Films Obtained by Sequential Lateral Solidification by Means of a 3-k-Hz Excimer Laser with a Sheetlike Beam, Russian Microelectronics, 1999, pp. 30-39, vol. 28, No. 1, Russia. |
Limanov, A.B., et al., Development of Linear Sequential Lateral Solidification Technique to Fabricate Quasi-Single-Cyrstal Super-thin Si Films for High-Performance Thin Film Transistor Devices, Perspectives, Science, and Technologies for Novel Silicon on. |
Mariucci et al., “Advanced excimer laser crystallization techniques,” Thin Solid Films, vol. 338, pp. 39-44, 2001. |
Micro/Las Lasersystem, GmbH, “UV Optics Systems for Excimer Laser Based Micromaching and Marking” (1999). |
Miyasaka, M., K. Makihira, T. Asano, E. Polychroniadis and J. Stoemenos, In situ observation of nickel metal-induced lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films, Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 944 (2002). |
Nerding, M., S. Christiansen, R. Dassow, K. Taretto, J.R. Kohler and H.P. Strunk, Tailoring texture in laser crystallization of silicon thin-films on glass, Solid State Phenom. 93, 173 (2003). |
Sato et al., “Mobility anisotropy of electrons in inversion layers on oxidized silicon surfaces” Physical Review B (State State) 4, 1950 (1971). |
Smith, H.I. et al., “The Mechanism of Orientation in Si Graphoepitaxy by Laser or Strip Heater Recrystallization, J. Electrochem. Soc.: Solid-State Science and Technology,” Taiwan FPD, Jun. 11, 2005, pp. 1-12. |
Song et al., “Single Crystal Si Islands on SiO2 Obtained Via Excimer Laser Irradiation of a Patterned Si Film”, Applied Phys. Lett., 68:3165, 1996. |
Sposili et al., “Line-scan sequential lateral solidification of Si thin films”, Appl. Phys. A67, 273-6, 1998. |
Thompson, C.V. and H.I. Smith, Surface-energy-driven secondary grain growth in ultrathin (<100 nm) films of silicon, Appl. Phys. Lett. 44, 603 (1984). |
van der Wilt, “The Commercialization of the SLS Technology,” Taiwan FPD, Jun. 11, 2004, pp. 1-12. |
van der Wilt, P.C., “State-of-the-Art Laser Crystallization of Si for Flat Panel Displays,” PhAST, May 18, 2004, pp. 1-34. |
van der Wilt, P.C., “Textured poly-Si films for hybrid SLS,” Jul. 2004, pp. 1-5. |
Voutsas, A. T., “Assessment of the Performance of Laser-Based Lateral-Crystallization Technology via Analysis and Modeling of Polysilicon Thin-Film-Transistor Mobility,” IEEE Transactions on Electronic Devices, vol. 50, No. 6, Jun. 2003. |
Voutsas, A.T., A new era of crystallization: advances in polysilicon crystallization and crystal engineering, Applied Surface Science 250-262, 2003. |
Voutsas, A.T., et al., Effect of process parameters on the structural characteristics of laterally grown, laser-annealed polycrystalline silicon films, Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 94, No. 12, p. 7445-7452, Dec. 15, 2003. |
Weiner, K. H. et al. “Laser-assisted, Self-aligned Silicide Formation,” A Verdant Technologies technical brief, Aug. 7, 1997, 1-9. |
Werner, J.H., et al. From polycrystalline to single crystalline silicon on glass, Thin Solid Films 383, 95-100, 2001. |
White et al., “Characterization of thin-oxide MNOS memory transistors” IEEE Trans. Electron Devices ED-19, 1280 (1972). |
Andra et al., “Multicrystalline LLC-SI Thin Film Solar Cells on Low Temperature Glass”, 3rd World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion May 11-18, 2003, Osaka, Japan, Poster, pp. 1174-1177 (2003). |
Andra et al., “A new technology for crystalline silicon thin film solar cells on glass based on laser crystallization”, Photovoltiac Specialists Conference. Conference Record of the Twenty-Eight IEEE, pp. 217-220 (2000). |
Sinke et al., “Explosive crystallization of amorphous silicon: Triggering and propagation”, Applied Surface Science, 43:128-135 (1989). |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20070010104 A1 | Jan 2007 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
60503361 | Sep 2003 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | PCT/US2004/030330 | Sep 2004 | US |
Child | 11373772 | US |