Thin-film transistor, liquid-crystal display device, and method of producing the same

Abstract

When a thin-film transistor (TFT) is formed on a glass substrate, electric charges caused in the TFT can be removed so as to avoid electrostatic damage in the TFT. A short-circuiting pattern that short-circuits the source region and the drain region of the TFT is added to a polysilicon pattern that constitutes the TFT. This short-circuiting pattern is removed at the same time as or after the wiring formation in the source region and the drain region.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to liquid-crystal display devices, and, more particularly, to a liquid-crystal display device of an active-matrix type having a thin-film transistor and a method of producing such a liquid-crystal display device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Liquid-crystal display devices are compact and consume lower power, and, for these reasons, have been widely used in portable information processing devices, such as notebook-type personal computers. However, the use of liquid-crystal display devices is not limited to portable information processing devices. Actually, the liquid-crystal display devices have started replacing conventional CRT display devices in desktop information processing devices. Moreover, the liquid-crystal display devices are greatly expected to serve as displays for high-definition television (HDTV), and particularly for projection HDTV.

With those high-performance large-area liquid-crystal display devices, the conventional simple matrix driving system is not adequate to satisfy various conditions such as the response rate, the contrast ratio, the color purity, and so forth. Therefore, the active-matrix driving system, in which each pixel is driven by a corresponding thin-film transistor (TFT), is employed. In a liquid-crystal display device, an amorphous silicon liquid-crystal display using amorphous silicon in the active regions of TFTs has been conventionally used. However, the electron mobility of amorphous silicon is small, and cannot satisfy the conditions required in the above high-performance liquid-crystal display devices. Accordingly, it is preferable to use polysilicon TFTs in those high-performance liquid-crystal display devices.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a conventional active-matrix liquid-crystal display device. As shown in FIG. 1 , the liquid-crystal display device comprises a TFT glass substrate 1 A that carries a large number of TFTs and transparent pixel electrodes in cooperation with the TFTs, and a counter glass substrate 1 B formed on the TFT glass substrate 1 A. Between the TFT glass substrate 1 A and the counter glass substrate 1 B, a liquid-crystal layer 1 is sealed by a sealing member 1 C. In the liquid-crystal display device, the transparent pixel electrodes are selectively driven via each corresponding TFT, so that the orientations of liquid-crystal molecules can be selectively varied with each selected transparent pixel electrode in the liquid-crystal layer. Outside the glass substrates 1 A and 1 B, polarizing plates (not shown) are arranged in a crossed-Nicol state. Inside the glass substrates 1 A and 1 B, a molecular orientation film (not shown) is formed in contact with the liquid-crystal layer 1 , thereby restricting the orientations of the liquid-crystal molecules.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the liquid-crystal display device shown in FIG. 1 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , a large number of pixel TFTs 11 and a peripheral circuit 1 PR for driving the pixel TFTs 11 are formed on the TFT glass substrate 1 A. Also, connection terminals and a pad electrode 1 c are formed outside the sealing member 1 C. The peripheral circuit 1 PR is also constituted by TFTS, and an interlayer insulating film 1 AI is formed in the region enclosed by the sealing member 1 C on the TFT glass substrate 1 A in such a manner that the interlayer insulating film 1 AI covers the peripheral circuit 1 PR and the pixel TFTs 11 . On the interlayer insulating film 1 AI, a large number of pixel electrodes 14 are formed in contact with the respective pixel TFTs 11 . On the interlayer insulating film 1 AI, a molecular orientation film 1 MO is further formed in such a manner that the molecular orientation film 1 MO covers the pixel electrodes 14 and is brought into contact with the enclosed liquid-crystal layer 1 .

A large number of color filter patterns 1 CF corresponding to the pixel electrodes 14 are formed on the glass substrate 1 B, and light blocking patterns 1 BM are formed between the color filter patterns 1 CF. On the counter glass substrate 1 B, a flattening insulating film 1 BI is formed so as to cover the color filter patterns 1 CF and the light blocking patterns 1 BM. On the flattening insulating film 1 BI, a counter transparent electrode 1 ITO is uniformly formed. The counter transparent electrode 1 ITO is covered with another molecular orientation film 1 MO, which is in contact with the liquid-crystal layer 1 . The molecular orientation films 1 MO restrict the orientations of the liquid-crystal molecules in the liquid-crystal layer 1 .

Furthermore, a first polarizing film 1 PL is formed on the lower surface of the TFT glass substrate 1 A, while a second polarizing film 1 AL is formed on the upper surface of the counter glass substrate 1 B, in such a manner that the polarizing axes are perpendicular to each other.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of the TFT glass substrate 1 A shown in FIG. 1 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , a large number of pad electrodes 13 A that receive scanning signals, a large number of scanning electrodes 13 extending from the pad electrodes 13 A, a large number of pad electrodes 12 A that receive video signals, and a large number of signal electrodes 12 extending from the pad electrodes 12 A, are formed on the glass substrate 1 A in such a manner that the extending direction of the scanning electrodes 13 is substantially perpendicular to the extending direction of the signal electrodes 12 . At each intersection of the scanning electrodes 13 and the signal electrodes 12 , the TFT 11 is formed. Furthermore, the transparent pixel electrodes described before are formed so as to correspond to the respective TFTs 11 . Each of the TFTs 11 is selected in accordance with the scanning signal on each corresponding scanning electrode 13 , and each cooperative transparent pixel electrode 14 is driven in accordance with the video signal on each corresponding signal electrode 12 . In FIG. 3 , the pad electrodes 12 A and 13 A are equivalent to the pad electrode 1 c shown in FIG. 2 .

On such an insulating glass substrate, however, static electricity is often generated due to various factors during the production of the TFTs. For instance, in a case where the insulating glass substrate is attached to or removed from a processing machine, a transportation means, a jig, or a substrate holder, static electricity enters the substrate from the outside. Also, various plasma processes used for forming the TFTs on the substrate, such as the plasma CVD method, the sputtering method, or the RIE process, might result in the accumulation of static electricity inside the substrate. In these plasma processes, the conductive patterns or the diffusion regions function as antennas, and the differences in effective area among the antennas induce potential differences in the substrate. Since the substrate itself is an insulator, the induced potential differences cannot be cancelled, resulting in unrecoverable permanent damage, partially recoverable semi-permanent damage, overruns due to variations of the threshold voltage, characteristic deterioration due to a decrease of mobility, poor long-term reliability due to potential problems, or the like. As a result, the yield of the liquid-crystal display device is reduced.

To avoid the above problems, a peripheral short-circuiting ring is formed so as to surround a plurality of panel regions on a common glass substrate including the panel regions, and the TFTs within the panel regions are connected to the peripheral short-circuiting ring, thereby preventing the accumulation of electric charges on the substrate.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a common glass substrate 100 having a peripheral short-circuiting ring formed in each panel region. In FIG. 4 , the same components as in the foregoing figures are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of panel regions 100 A outlined by scribe regions including scribe lines SL indicated by dotted lines in the figure are formed on the common glass substrate 100 . In each of the panel regions 100 A, a TFT array constituted by the TFTs 11 shown in FIG. 2 is formed. A scanning-side peripheral circuit 13 B that operates in cooperation with the TFT array and selects one of the scanning electrodes 13 , and a signal-side peripheral circuit 12 B that operates in cooperation with the TFT array and selects one of the signal electrodes 12 are further formed in each of the panel regions 100 A. The scanning-side peripheral circuit 13 B and the signal-side peripheral circuit 12 B are equivalent to the peripheral circuit 1 PR described with reference to FIG. 2 .

In each of the panel regions 100 A, a peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S that extends along the boundary of the scribe region is formed in such a manner as to surround the TFT array and the peripheral circuits 12 B and 13 B, and each signal electrode 12 and each scanning electrode 13 in the TFT array are connected to the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S. The pad electrodes 12 A and 13 A (not shown in FIG. 4 ), which are formed along the outer periphery of the panel regions, are also electrically connected to the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S via a terminal short bar 13 S.

With the above structure, the static electricity generated in the display region escapes to the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S via the signal electrodes 12 , the scanning electrodes 13 , and the short bar 13 S, thereby preventing electrostatic damage in the elements formed in the display region. The peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S is removed when the common glass substrate is divided into individual display panels by cutting along the scribe regions.

Meanwhile, in the conventional structure shown in FIG. 4 , the pixel electrodes 14 for driving liquid cells or the accumulation volumes C disposed in parallel with the pixel electrodes 14 are connected to the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S via the TFTs 11 . If electric charges are generated in the pixel electrode 14 and the accumulation volume C during the production of the liquid panel, electrostatic damage in the TFTs 11 cannot be effectively prevented even with the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S. Likewise, if static electricity is generated in the TFTs, charging cannot be prevented by the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S.

In the conventional procedures of producing the conventional liquid-crystal display device, as shown in FIG. 5A , a testing terminal 16 is disposed between each pad electrode 12 A or 13 A and each corresponding peripheral circuit 12 B or 13 B, so that various electric tests can be performed on a display panel that is being produced. Since the pad electrodes 12 A and 13 A are connected to the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S at this point, a resistance r 0 is interposed between each pad electrode 12 A or 13 A and the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S.

Conventionally, the resistance r 0 has a constant resistance value of 100 kΩ, for instance. As shown in FIG. 5B , a clock T 1 , a positive power source voltage T 2 , and a negative power source voltage T 3 are supplied to each pad electrode 13 A, and these signals or power source voltages are then supplied to a CMOS inverter circuit that constitutes the peripheral circuit 13 B. As for each pad electrode 12 A and each corresponding peripheral circuit 12 B, the same structure is employed.

FIG. 5C is an equivalent circuit diagram of a part including one of the pad electrodes 12 A, the corresponding one of the peripheral circuits 12 B, and the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S.

As shown in FIG. 5C , the impedance (rin) of the pad electrode 13 A, to which the clock T 1 is inputted, is much greater than the resistance r 0 , because the CMOS inverter circuit has great input impedance. On the other hand, the impedance R at a pad electrode 13 A that receives the positive power source voltage and a pad electrode 13 A that receives the negative power source voltage can be expressed as:

  R=r 0 ×( R 0 + rin )/[ r 0 +( r 0 + rin )]

wherein rin is the internal resistance of the CMOS inverter circuit. In this case, the value of the internal resistance rin is smaller than r 0 , and the value rin might vary with each of the pad electrodes 13 A. This means that the apparent resistance value between the pad electrodes 13 A and the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S varies with each of the pad electrodes 13 A. Meanwhile, if the value of the resistance R varies with the pad electrodes 13 A, there is a possibility of causing great potential differences between the pad electrode that receives the clock T 1 , the electrode pad that receives the positive power source voltage, and the pad electrode 13 that receives the negative power source voltage. With such great potential differences, the MOS transistor that constitutes the CMOS inverter circuit might be electrostatically damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A general object of the present invention is to provide a novel liquid-crystal display device and a method of producing the same in which the above disadvantages are eliminated.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a liquid-crystal display device that can solve the problem of electrostatic damage in the TFTs caused due to charges generated inside the TFTs on the glass substrate during the production of an active-matrix liquid-crystal display using a peripheral short-circuiting ring.

Another specific object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a liquid-crystal display device that can prevent a potential difference from being caused between the TFTs on the glass substrate due to such conditions as the pixel electrode shape, the wiring area, and the circuit structure, during the production of an active-matrix liquid-crystal display using a peripheral short-circuiting ring.

Yet another specific object of the present invention is to provide a liquid-crystal display device that includes a CMOS circuit in which no variation in threshold value of the TFTs is caused by static electricity.

Still another specific object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a liquid-crystal display device that can restrict the generation of potential differences in the TFT circuits during the production of an active-matrix liquid-crystal display in which the TFT circuits are connected to a peripheral short-circuiting ring via resistances.

The above objects of the present invention are achieved by a method of producing a thin-film transistor on an insulating substrate, which method comprises the steps of:

forming a polysilicon pattern on the insulating substrate, the polysilicon pattern including a first region of a first conductivity, a second region of the first conductivity, a first bridging region that connects the first region and the second region, and a second bridging region that connects the first region and the second region;

forming an insulating film on the insulating substrate in such a manner that the insulting film covers the polysilicon pattern;

forming a gate electrode pattern on the insulating film in such a manner that the gate electrode pattern covers the first bridging region;

forming a wiring pattern on the first region in such a manner that the wiring pattern is in contact with the first region; and

cutting the second bridging region after the step of forming the wiring pattern.

In the above method, the step of forming the polysilicon pattern includes the step of providing a conductivity to the second bridging region.

The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a thin-film transistor that includes:

an insulating substrate;

a polysilicon pattern formed above the insulating substrate, the polysilicon pattern including a first region of a first conductivity, a second region of the first conductivity, and a channel region that connects the first region and the second region;

a gate insulating film that covers the channel region; and

a gate electrode formed above the channel region.

In this thin-film transistor, the polysilicon pattern has a first extending portion that extends from the first region to a first tip end, and a second extending portion that extends from the second region to a second tip end.

The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a liquid-crystal display device that comprises:

a first glass substrate;

a second glass substrate that faces the first glass substrate, with a gap being maintained between the first glass substrate and the second glass substrate;

a liquid-crystal layer enclosed in the gap; and

a thin-film transistor formed on a surface of the first glass substrate, the surface facing the second glass substrate.

In this liquid-crystal display device, the thin-film transistor includes:

a polysilicon pattern formed on the surface of the first glass substrate, the polysilicon pattern including a first region of a first conductivity, a second region of the first conductivity, and a channel region that connects the first region and the second region;

a gate insulating film that covers the channel region; and

a gate electrode pattern formed on the channel region.

In this thin-film transistor, the polysilicon pattern has a first extending portion that extends from the first region to a first tip end, and a second extending portion that extends from the second region to a second tip end.

The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a thin-film transistor substrate that comprises:

a glass substrate having a panel region formed thereon;

a conductive peripheral short-circuiting ring that is formed in the panel region on the glass substrate and extends along the boundary of the panel region without a gap;

an internal circuit that is formed in the panel region on the glass substrate, includes a plurality of thin-film transistors formed on the glass substrate, and is provided with a plurality of connection terminals; and

a plurality of resistance elements that are formed in the panel region on the glass substrate, each of the plurality of resistive elements electrically connecting a respective one of the plurality of connection terminals to the peripheral short-circuiting ring.

In this thin-film transistor substrate, the resistance values are selected such that the impedance at each connection terminal is substantially constant.

With the above method and liquid-crystal display device of the present invention, the problem of uneven potential difference that has been caused by the differences in electrode shape and area can be eliminated by adding a bridging region that bridges the source region and the drain region to a polysilicon pattern that includes the source region, the drain region, and the bridging region of a thin-film transistor. Since the step of cutting the bridging region is performed at the same time as the step of forming a contact hole in the thin-film transistor, the number of production steps can be prevented from increasing. The present invention is particularly effective in the production of an active-matrix liquid-crystal display in which a large number of plasma processes are performed.

With the thin-film transistors of the present invention, the problem of electrostatic damage or deterioration of thin-film transistors that constitute the internal circuit, due to potential differences induced by differences in impedance at the connection terminals, can be eliminated from the internal circuit.

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional liquid-crystal display device;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the liquid-crystal display device of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of the liquid-crystal display device of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 illustrates a conventional antistatic structure in a TFT substrate shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIGS. 5A to 5 C illustrate another antistatic structure in the TFT substrate shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIGS. 6A to 6 D illustrate the steps of producing a TFT in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate the structure of a TFT-CMOS circuit in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8A to 8 G illustrate the steps of producing the TFT-CMOS circuit of FIG. 7A ;

FIGS. 9A to 9 D illustrate the steps of producing the TFT-CMOS circuit of FIG. 7A ;

FIG. 10 shows the structure of a pixel TFT of a liquid-crystal display device in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 11A to 11 D illustrates the steps of producing the liquid-crystal display device including the pixel TFT of FIG. 10 ;

FIGS. 12A to 12 C illustrate the steps of producing the liquid-crystal display device including the pixel TFT of FIG. 10 ;

FIGS. 13A to 13 C illustrate the steps of producing a liquid-crystal display device comprising a pixel TFT in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 shows the structure of a pixel TFT in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows the structure of a peripheral circuit of a liquid-crystal display device in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a detail view of a scanning-side peripheral circuit of the liquid-crystal display of FIG. 15 ;

FIG. 17 is a detail view of a D-type flip-flop of the structure shown in FIG. 16 ;

FIG. 18 is a detail view of an output buffer circuit of the structure shown in FIG. 16 ;

FIG. 19 is a detail view of a NAND circuit of the structure shown in FIG. 16 ;

FIG. 20 is a detail view of an analog switch circuit of the structure shown in FIG. 15 ;

FIG. 21 is a detail view of a memory cell of the structure of FIG. 15 ;

FIG. 22 shows the structure of a liquid-crystal display device in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 illustrates the principles of the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 illustrates an example structure of the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 illustrates the optimization of resistance value in accordance with the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 illustrates the principles of an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate the principles of a ninth embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate another example structure of the ninth embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 29A and 29B illustrate an example structure of a tenth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 30 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Functions

In accordance with one feature of the present invention, problems of charging in thin-film transistors and uneven potential differences due to the differences in shape and area between electrodes can be solved by a bridging region that bridges the source region and the drain region in each thin-film transistor during the formation of the thin-film transistors on an insulating substrate of a liquid-crystal display device. Those problems could not be eliminated by the conventional peripheral short-circuiting ring. In the present invention, a step of cutting the bridging region and a step of forming contact holes in the thin-film transistors are performed at the same time, thereby reducing the total number of production steps. The present invention is particularly effective in the steps of producing a liquid-crystal display device of an active-matrix driving type in which various plasma processes are performed.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, a thin-film transistor substrate comprises a glass substrate that has panel regions formed thereon, a conductive peripheral short-circuiting ring that is formed in the panel regions on the glass substrate and extends along the boundaries of the panel regions, and an internal circuit including a plurality of thin-film transistors and a plurality of connection terminals. The resistance values of a plurality of resistance elements formed in the panel regions on the glass substrate, each of the plurality of resistors connecting a respective one of the connection terminals to the peripheral short-circuiting ring, are selected so that impedance at the connection terminals are made substantially constant for the testing of the internal circuit during the production of the thin-film transistor substrate. By doing so, voltage differences caused by the differences in impedance values at the connection terminals are eliminated from the internal circuit. Furthermore, electrostatic damage and deterioration of the thin-film transistors that constitute the internal circuit can also be eliminated.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 6A to 6 D illustrate the steps of producing a TFT (thin-film transistor) in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6B is an equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 6A , while FIG. 6D is an equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 6 C.

As shown in FIG. 6A , a polysilicon pattern 11 comprising a source region 11 S, a drain region 11 D, and a channel region 11 C that connects the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D, is formed on an insulating substrate 10 made of glass or the like. A gate electrode pattern 12 G made of AlNd or the like is formed on the polysilicon pattern 11 so as to cover the channel region 11 C, with a gate oxide layer (not shown) being interposed between the polysilicon pattern 11 and the gate electrode pattern 12 G. Doping with an n-type or p-type impurity element is carried out on the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D, with the gate electrode pattern 12 G serving as a self-aligned mask. The polysilicon pattern 11 and the gate electrode pattern 12 G are covered with an insulating film (not shown). A source electrode 12 S corresponding to the source region is formed on the insulating film, and a drain electrode 12 D corresponding to the drain region 11 D is formed on the insulating film. The source electrode 12 S and the drain electrode 12 D are in contact with the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D through contact holes 11 s and 11 d formed in the insulating film. Also, a contact hole 12 g for exposing the gate electrode pattern 12 G is formed in the insulating film.

In the structure shown in FIG. 6A , the polysilicon pattern 11 includes a pattern 11 R that connects the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D. This pattern 11 R is provided with conductivity so as to form a resistor R that short-circuits the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D, as shown in the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 6 B. It is preferable that doping is carried out on the pattern 11 R with the same impurity element of the same conductivity as with the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D.

As shown in the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 6B , since the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D of the TFT are connected by the pattern 11 R in the state shown in FIG. 6A , the TFT is not electrostatically damaged, even if a potential is generated in a wiring pattern connected to the drain electrode 12 D and the source electrode 12 S due to charges or antenna effects accompanying plasma processing.

With the short-circuiting pattern 11 R, no electric charges from the drain electrode 12 D and the source electrode 12 S accumulate in the polysilicon pattern 11 . Accordingly, large electric stress is not applied to the gate oxide film in the drain region 11 D or between the gate electrode pattern 12 G and the drain region 11 D or the source region 11 S, thereby eliminating the problem of varying threshold characteristics of the TFT.

Furthermore, with the short-circuiting pattern 11 R, the TFT is permanently or semipermanently protected from damage, even if electric shock is applied to the TFT from the outside during production thereof. Also, potential defects which are often caused by electric shock can be prevented. Thus, the resultant TFT has excellent long-term reliability. Furthermore, in a case where a large number of TFTs having different channel lengths and widths are formed on the insulating substrate 10 , the short-circuiting pattern 11 R is very effective in solving the problems of uneven charging and electrostatic damage caused by the difference in size.

After the steps shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B , an opening 13 R for exposing the polysilicon pattern 11 R is formed in the insulating film. The polysilicon pattern 11 R is cut through the opening 13 R, so that the short-circuiting between the source region 11 S and the drain region 11 D can be eliminated, as shown in the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 6 D. The TFT shown in FIG. 6C characteristically comprises a first polysilicon pattern 11 R 1 extending from the source region 11 S to the opening 13 R, and a second polysilicon pattern 11 R 2 extending from the drain region 11 D to the opening 13 R.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 7A shows the structure of a CMOS circuit in which a TFT of a second embodiment of the present invention is employed. FIG. 7B is an equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 7 A. As will be described later, the CMOS circuit of this embodiment can be applied to various driving circuits of liquid-crystal display devices, such as the signal-side peripheral circuit 12 B or the scanning-side peripheral circuit 13 B shown in FIG. 4 .

As shown in FIG. 7A , the CMOS circuit is formed on an insulating substrate 20 equivalent to the TFT glass substrate 1 A shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 . On the insulating substrate 20 , a polysilicon pattern 21 that constitutes a p-channel TFT (p-chTFT) and an n-channel TFT (n-chTFT) is formed. The polysilicon pattern 21 comprises a portion 21 PS that serves as the source region of the p-channel TFT, a portion 21 PD that serves as the drain region of the p-channel TFT, and a portion 21 PC that serves as the channel region of the p-channel TFT. The channel region 21 PC is formed by the connection of the source region 21 PS and the drain region 21 PD.

Likewise, the polysilicon pattern 21 comprises a portion 21 NS that serves as the source region of the n-channel TFT, a portion 21 ND that serves as the drain region of the n-channel TFT, and a portion 21 NC that serves as the channel region of the n-channel region TFT. The channel region 21 NC is formed by the connection between the source region 21 NS and the drain region 21 ND.

The polysilicon pattern 21 is covered with a gate oxide film (not shown), and an AlNd gate electrode pattern 22 G including a gate electrode 22 PG that covers the channel region 21 PC of the p-channel TFT and another gate electrode 22 NG that covers the channel region 21 NC of the n-channel TFT is formed on the gate oxide film. Further, the polysilicon pattern 21 and the gate electrode pattern 22 G thereon are covered with an insulating film 23 (not shown in FIG. 7 A), and a source electrode pattern 24 PS corresponding to the source region 21 PS is formed on the insulating film 23 in such a manner that the source electrode pattern 24 PS is brought into contact with the source region 21 PS through a contact hole 23 PS formed in the insulating film 23 . Likewise, a source electrode pattern 24 NS corresponding to the source region 21 NS is formed on the insulating film 23 in such a manner that the source electrode pattern 24 NS is brought into contact with the source region 21 NS through a contact hole 23 NS formed in the insulating film 23 . Further, a drain electrode pattern 24 D corresponding to the drain regions 21 PD and 21 ND is formed on the insulating film in such a manner that the drain electrode pattern 24 D is brought into contact with the drain region 21 PD through a contact hole 23 PD formed in the insulating film, and also brought into contact with the drain region 21 ND through a contact hole 23 ND formed in the insulating film 23 . A gate wiring pattern 24 G is further formed on the insulating film 23 in such a manner that the gate wiring pattern 24 G is brought into contact with the gate electrode pattern 22 G through a contact hole 23 G.

The drain electrode pattern 24 D connects the p-channel TFT and the N-channel TFT, as shown in the equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 7 B. Here, p-type doping is carried out on the source region 21 PS and the drain region 21 PD of the p-channel TFT by an ion injection process, with the gate electrode 22 PG serving as a self-aligned mask, while n-type doing is carried out on the source region 21 NS and the drain region 21 ND of the n-channel TFT by the ion injection process, with the gate electrode 22 PG serving as a self-aligned mask. As will be described later with respect to the manufacturing procedure, the p-channel TFT and the n-channel TFT each have an LDD structure.

In the structure shown in FIG. 7A , the polysilicon pattern 21 includes a short-circuiting pattern 21 S that connects the source region 21 PS, the drain region 21 PD, the drain region 21 ND, and the source region 21 NS. As on the source region 21 PS and the drain region 21 PD, p-type doping is carried out on a portion 21 S 1 connecting the source region 21 PS and the drain region 21 PD. Meanwhile, as on the source region 21 NS and the drain region 21 ND, n-type doping is carried out on a portion 21 S 2 connecting the source region 21 NS and the drain region 21 ND.

After the completion of the CMS circuit shown in FIG. 7A , the short-circuiting pattern 21 is removed by etching at an opening 23 S, thereby releasing the short-circuiting among the source region 21 PS, the drain region 21 PD, the drain region 21 ND, and the source region 21 NS.

FIGS. 8A to 9 D illustrate the steps of producing the TFT-CMOS circuit shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B . Each of FIGS. 8A to 9 D is a sectional view of the TFT-CMOS circuit taken along the line A—A′ of FIG. 7 A.

As shown in FIG. 8A , the glass substrate 20 is a glass slab made of Corning #1737 or the like. After washing the surface of the glass substrate 20 , a SiO 2 film (not shown) having a thickness of 150 to 300 nm, more preferably a thickness of approximately 200 nm, is deposited on the glass substrate 20 by the plasma CVD method. A SiN film (not shown) having a thickness of approximately 50 nm is further deposited on the SiO 2 film by the plasma CD method. An amorphous Si film 210 a typically having a thickness of 20 to 100 nm, more preferably having a thickness of 40 to 50 nm, is then uniformly deposited by the PCVD method.

In the step shown in FIG. 8B , the glass substrate 20 is subjected to heat treatment in an atmosphere of N 2 at 450° C. for 1 hour. After the hydrogen in the amorphous Si film 210 a is removed, an excimer laser having a wavelength of 308 nm is applied to the amorphous Si film 210 a at an energy density of 300 to 400 mJ/cm 2 , more preferably 320 to 350 mJ/cm 2 , thereby crystallizing the amorphous Si film 210 a . As a result of the crystallization, the amorphous Si film 210 a is converted into a polysilicon film 210 p . If the proportion of hydrogen in the amorphous Si film 210 a is less than 1%, the heat treatment in an atmosphere of N 2 can be skipped.

In the step shown in FIG. 8C , the polysilicon film 210 p is patterned by the RIE method, so as to form the polysilicon pattern 21 shown in FIG. 7 A. As described before, the polysilicon pattern 21 includes the short-circuiting pattern 21 S.

In the step shown in FIG. 8D , a SiO 2 film 212 having a thickness of 100 to 150 nm, more preferably a thickness of approximately 120 nm, is deposited as a gate oxide film on the structure obtained in the step of FIG. 8C by the plasma CVD method in such a manner that the SiO 2 film 212 covers the polysilicon pattern 21 . A gate electrode layer 22 made of an AlNd alloy having a thickness of 300 to 400 nm, more preferably a thickness of approximately 350 nm, is further deposited on the gate oxide film by sputtering.

In the step shown in FIG. 8E , the gate electrode layer 22 is patterned by wet etching using a resist mask, thereby forming the gate electrode pattern 22 PG in the region of the p-channel TFT and the gate electrode pattern 22 NG in the region of the n-channel TFT. With the resist mask remaining, the gate oxide film 212 is patterned by dry etching using CHF 3 , thereby forming a gate oxide film pattern 212 G corresponding to the gate electrode patterns 22 PG and 22 NG in the p-channel TFT region and the n-channel TFT region. In the step shown in FIG. 8E , after the patterning of the gate oxide film pattern 212 G, the gate electrode patterns 22 PG and 22 NG are laterally etched by wet etching, with the resist mask remaining, so that the gate electrodes 22 PG and 22 NG become slightly smaller than the gate oxide film pattern 212 G. As a result, the gate oxide film pattern 212 G laterally protrudes from the side surfaces of the gate electrode patterns 22 PG and 22 NG by 0.5 to 1.5 μm, more preferably by 0.8 μm.

In the step shown in FIG. 8G , a resist pattern RG is formed so as to cover the n + -type region in the n-channel TFT region and the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 S 2 . B + ion injection in the two-step manner as described above is then carried out on the region not covered with the resist pattern RG in the polysilicon pattern 21 . The p + -type source region 21 PS and the p + -type drain region 21 PD are formed on both sides of the gate electrode pattern 22 PG, with a p − -type LDD region being interposed therebetween. By the B + ion injection, the p + -type doping is carried out on the region 21 S 1 not protected by the resist pattern RG in the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 S. The B + ion injection is also carried out in existence of a 1% to 5% B 2 H 6 diluted gas by the use of a plasma doping machine having RF discharge or DC discharge as an ion source. The first acceleration voltage is set at 10 keV, and the dose is set at 5×10 14 to 5×10 15 cm − 2. The second acceleration voltage is set at 60 keV, and the dose is set at 1×10 13 to 1×10 14 cm − 2. In the actual production procedure, after the step of injecting the B + ion shown in FIG. 8G , the resultant structure is subjected to heat treatment using an excimer laser or a halogen lamp. As a result, the P or B ions introduced in the step of FIG. 8F or FIG. 8G are activated in the polysilicon pattern 21 . After the ion injection and heat treatment process, the source regions 21 NS and 21 PS, the drain regions 21 ND and 21 PD, and the p + - and n + -type short-circuiting patterns 21 S 1 and 21 S 2 are set at 5 kΩ/□ or lower, more preferably at 1 kΩ/□ or lower, in sheet resistance. Meanwhile, the sheet resistance of the n − -type and p − -type is set at 1×10 4 to 5×10 6 k Ω/□, more preferably at 5×10 4 to 1×10 6 k Ω/□.

In the step shown in FIG. 8G , a resist pattern RG is formed so as to cover the N + -type region in the n-channel TFT region and the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 S 2 . B + ion injection in the two-step manner as described above is then carried out on the region not covered with the resist pattern RG in the polysilicon pattern 21 . The p + -type source region 21 PS and the p + -type drain region 21 PD are formed on both sides of the gate electrode pattern 22 PG, with a p − -type LDD region being interposed therebetween. By the B + ion injection, p + -type doping is carried out on the region 21 S 1 not protected by the resist pattern RG in the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 S. The B + ion injection is also carried out in existence of a 1% to 5% B 2 H 6 diluted gas by the use of a plasma doping machine having RF discharge or DC discharge as an ion source. The first acceleration voltage is set at 10 keV, and the dose is set at 5×10 14 to 5×10 15 cm −2 . The second acceleration voltage is set at 60 keV, and the dose is set at 1×10 13 to 1×10 14 cm −2 . In the actual production procedure, after the step of injecting the B + ion shown in FIG. 8G , the resultant structure is subjected to heat treatment using an excimer laser or a halogen lamp. As a result, the P or B introduced in the step of FIG. 8F or FIG. 8G is activated in the polysilicon pattern 21 . After the ion injection and heat treatment process, the source regions 21 NS and 21 PS, the drain regions 21 ND and 21 PD, and the p + - and N + -type short-circuiting patterns 21 S 1 and 21 S 2 are set at 5 kΩ/□ or lower, more preferably at 1 kΩ/□ or lower, in sheet resistance. Meanwhile, the sheet resistance of the n − -type and p − -type is set at 1×10 4 to 5×10 6 kΩ/ □, more preferably at 5×10 4 to 1×10 6 kΩ/□.

In the step shown in FIG. 9A , an interlayer insulating film 23 made of SiN and having a thickness of 300 to 600 nm, more preferably, 400 nm, is deposited on the resultant structure of FIG. 8G by the plasma CVD method. The insulating film 23 is then patterned by the photolithographic method and the RIE method using CF 4 and SF 6 , thereby forming the contact holes 23 PS, 23 PD, 23 ND, and 23 NS in the insulating film 23 , as shown in FIG. 9 A. Although not shown in the sectional view of FIG. 9A , the contact hole 23 G is also formed at the same time as the formation of the contact holes 23 PS, 23 PD, 23 ND, and 23 NS.

In the step shown in FIG. 9A , the opening 23 S is further formed in the insulating film 23 , so that the short-circuiting pattern 21 S is exposed through the opening 23 S.

In the step shown in FIG. 9B , a conductive film 24 having an Al layer having a thickness of 20 nm and a Ti layer having a thickness of 10 nm is formed on the resultant structure of FIG. 9A by sputtering, so that the contact holes 23 PS, 23 PD, 23 ND, and 23 NS, as well as the opening 23 S, are filled with the conductive film 24 .

In the step shown in FIG. 9C , the conductive film 24 is patterned by the RIE process using an etching gas, thereby producing the source electrodes 24 PS and 24 NS, the common drain electrode 24 D, and the gate wiring pattern 24 G. Further, in the step shown in FIG. 9C , the conductive film 24 is removed from the opening 23 S, thereby exposing the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 S. With the resist pattern remaining, the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 S is subjected to dry etching by the RIE process. As a result, the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 S is cut at the opening 23 S.

In the step shown in FIG. 9D , an insulating film 25 made of SiN and having a thickness of approximately 350 nm is formed on the resultant structure of the step shown in FIG. 9 C. Thus, a desired TFT-CMOS circuit is completed.

In a case where the desired TFT-CMOS circuit is a driving circuit of a liquid-crystal display device, a pixel electrode forming process is performed on the insulating film 25 , as will be described in the next embodiment.

Third Embodiment

In the following, a method of producing a liquid-crystal display device in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 , 11 A to 11 D, and 12 A to 12 C. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a TFT substrate halfway through production.

As shown in FIG. 10 , a polysilicon pattern 41 that constitutes the pixel TFT 11 and a polysilicon pattern 61 that constitutes a peripheral circuit TFT 31 are formed on a TFT glass substrate 40 equivalent to the TFT glass substrate 1 A of FIG. 1 . The polysilicon pattern 41 includes an N + -doped source region 41 S, an N + -doped drain region 41 D, and a channel region 41 C that connects the source region 41 S and the drain region 41 D. Accordingly, the pixel TFT 11 is an n-channel TFT.

Likewise, the polysilicon pattern 61 includes an N + -doped source region 61 S, an N + -doped drain region 61 D, and a channel region 61 C that connects the source region 61 S and the drain region 61 D. Accordingly, the polysilicon pattern 61 forms the peripheral circuit, for instance, a part of the n-channel TFT that constitutes the signal-side peripheral circuit 12 B shown in FIG. 4 .

The polysilicon patterns 41 and 61 are covered with a gate oxide film 42 (not shown in the plan view of FIG. 10 ) formed on the glass substrate 40 . On the gate oxide film 42 , a gate electrode 43 G is formed so as to cover the channel region 41 C, and a gate electrode 63 G is formed so as to cover the channel region 61 C. Further, the gate electrodes 43 G and 63 G, and the polysilicon patterns 41 and 61 are covered with an interlayer insulating film 44 (not shown in the plan view of FIG. 10 ). On the interlayer insulating film 44 , a source electrode 45 S corresponding to the source region 41 S, a drain electrode 45 D corresponding to the drain region 41 D, a source electrode 65 S corresponding to the source region 61 S, and a drain electrode 65 D corresponding to the drain region 61 D are formed in such a manner that the source electrode 45 S, the drain electrode 45 D, the source electrode 65 S, and the drain electrode 65 D are brought into contact with the corresponding source regions 41 S and 61 S, and the drain regions 41 D and 61 D, through contact holes 44 S, 44 D, 64 S, and 64 D formed in the interlayer insulating film 44 . Also, on the interlayer insulating film 44 , gate electrode patterns 45 G and 65 G corresponding to the gate electrodes 43 G and 63 G are formed in such a manner that the gate electrode patterns 45 G and 65 G are brought into contact with the gate electrodes 43 G and 63 G through contact holes 44 G and 64 G formed in the interlayer insulating film 44 .

In FIG. 10 , the drain region 41 D, the source region 41 S, the drain region 61 D, and the source region 61 S are short-circuited by a polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC formed on the glass substrate 40 . Because of this, no potential difference will be caused inside the TFT 11 and the TFT 31 , if plasma processing is performed during the step of depositing the interlayer insulating film 44 , the step of patterning the contact holes 44 S, 64 S, 44 D, 64 D, 44 G, and 64 G in the insulating film 44 , or the step of patterning the electrode patterns 45 S, 65 S, 45 D, 65 D, 45 G, and 65 G.

In this embodiment, with the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC, another interlayer insulating film 46 (not shown in the plan view of FIG. 10 ) is formed so as to cover the source electrodes 45 S and 65 S, and the drain electrodes 45 D and 65 D. On the interlayer insulating film 46 , a transparent pixel electrode is formed in such a manner that the transparent pixel electrode is in contact with the drain region 41 D of the TFT 11 . At this point, the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is removed through an opening 46 A formed in the interlayer insulating film 46 . Thus, the problem of short-circuiting due to the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC can be eliminated.

FIGS. 11A to 12 C illustrate the steps of producing the liquid-crystal display device of the third embodiment of the present invention. Each of FIGS. 11A to 12 C is a sectional view of the liquid-crystal display device taken along the line A—A′ in FIG. 10 .

As shown in FIG. 11A , after the formation of the TFT 11 and 31 , the polysilicon pattern 41 is covered with the SiN interlayer insulating film 44 having a thickness of 300 to 600 nm, more preferably 400 nm, formed by the plasma CVD method. In the step shown in FIG. 11B , the contact holes 44 S, 64 S, 44 D, and 64 D for exposing the source regions 41 S and 61 S, and the drain regions 41 D and 61 D, respectively, are formed in the interlayer insulating film 44 . In the step of forming the contact holes, an opening 44 A for exposing the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is formed at the same time. The TFT 11 and 31 have the LDD structure, like the TFTs described in the foregoing embodiments.

In the step shown in FIG. 11C , a conductive film 45 having a Ti/Al/Ti stacked structure is deposited on the interlayer insulating film 44 by sputtering, so that the contact holes 44 S, 64 S, 44 D, 64 D, and the opening 44 A are filled with the conductive film 45 . In the step shown in FIG. 11D , the conductive film 45 is patterned by the RIE process using a mixed gas of CF 4 , SF 6 , and O 2 as an etching gas, thereby forming the source electrodes 45 S and 65 S, and the drain electrodes 45 D and 65 D. Although the gate contact holes 44 G and 64 G cannot be seen on the section taken along the line A—A′ in FIGS. 11C and 11D , they are included in the sectional view of FIGS. 11C and 11D for ease of explanation. After the patterning of the conductive film 45 , the gate wiring patterns 45 G and 65 G are formed on the contact holes 44 G and 64 G.

In the step shown in FIG. 11D , at the time of the patterning of the conductive film 45 , the conductive film 45 is removed through the opening 44 A, thereby exposing the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC through the opening 44 A. Unlike the foregoing embodiment, the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is not cut in the step of FIG. 11D in this embodiment.

In the step shown in FIG. 12A , a SiN interlayer insulating film 46 having a thickness of 300 to 500 nm, more preferably 350 nm, is formed on the resultant structure of FIG. 11D by the plasma CVD method. In this interlayer insulating film 46 , the opening 46 A for exposing the opening 44 A and a contact hole 46 B for exposing the drain electrode 45 D are formed. In this embodiment, the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is cut through the opening 44 A in the step of forming the opening 46 A. As a result, the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is divided into a polysilicon pattern 41 SC 1 that extends from the peripheral circuit TFT 31 to the opening 44 A, and a polysilicon pattern 41 SC 2 that extends from the pixel TFT 11 to the opening 44 A.

In this embodiment, prior to the deposition of the interlayer insulating film 46 by the plasma CVD method in the step of FIG. 12A , the TFT 31 and the TFT 11 are electrically disconnected from each other by the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC. Accordingly, there is no possibility of electrostatic damage in the TFT 31 or TFT 11 , even if plasma processing induces internal charges.

In the step shown in FIG. 12B , a transparent pixel electrode 47 made of ITO (In 2 O 3 ·SnO 2 ) is formed on the interlayer insulating film 46 in such a manner that the transparent pixel electrode 47 is brought into contact with the drain electrode 45 D through the contact hole 46 B. In the step shown in FIG. 12C , a molecular orientation film 48 is formed on the interlayer insulting film 46 by spin coating in such a manner that the molecular orientation film 48 covers the transparent pixel electrode 47 .

As described before, since the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is cut after the formation of the interlayer insulating film 46 , there is no possibility that electrostatic damage is caused in the TFT 31 or TFT 11 even though the interlayer insulating film 46 is formed by the plasma CVD method.

Fourth Embodiment

FIGS. 13A to 13 C illustrate the steps of producing a liquid-crystal display device in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the step shown in FIG. 13A is a step that follows the step shown in FIG. 11D of the third embodiment, and is equivalent to the step shown in FIG. 12 A. In FIGS. 13A to 13 C, the same components as in the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 13A , when the opening 46 A is formed in the interlayer insulating film 46 by the RIE process, dry etching is performed under such conditions that the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is not fully removed. As a result, the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is exposed through the opening 44 A exposed through the opening 46 A.

In the step shown in FIG. 13B , the transparent pixel electrode 47 is deposed on the interlayer insulating film 46 by the plasma CVD method using the ITO layer, and then patterned by the RIE process. In FIG. 13C , which is equivalent to the step shown in FIG. 12C , the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is cut through the opening 44 A. After the cutting, the molecular orientation film 48 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 46 in such a manner that the molecular orientation film 48 covers the transparent pixel electrode 47 .

In this embodiment, an additional step is required for cutting the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC as shown in FIG. 13 C. However, this step is performed after the formation of the transparent pixel electrode 47 . Accordingly, the possibility of electrostatic damage in the TFT 11 or TFT 31 during the production of the liquid-crystal display device can be eliminated.

Fifth Embodiment

In the foregoing embodiments, damage in the TFTs is avoided by the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC connecting the pixel TFT 11 and the peripheral circuit TFT 31 during the production of the liquid-crystal display device. However, it is also possible to form a polysilicon short-circuiting pattern in each pixel TFT 11 in the display region as shown in FIG. 14 . In FIG. 14 the same components as described before are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 14 , each of the TFTs 11 arranged in the display region of the liquid-crystal display device includes the N + - or p + -type source region 41 S, the drain region 41 D having the same conductivity, and the polysilicon pattern 41 SC that short-circuits the source region 41 S and the drain region 41 D. The polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is exposed through the opening 44 A and the opening 46 A, which also exposes the opening 44 A. After the step of forming a contact hole for the transparent pixel electrode 47 in the interlayer insulating film 46 , which step is equivalent to the step shown in FIG. 12A , or after the patterning of the transparent pixel electrode 47 , the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is cut. Particularly, in the case where the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC is cut after the formation of patterning of the transparent pixel electrode 47 , even a great potential difference induced between the source region 41 S and the drain region 41 D due to the antenna effect during the patterning by the RIE process can be immediately eliminated by the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 41 SC. Thus, electrostatic damage in the TFTs 11 can be avoided.

Sixth Embodiment

In the following, another embodiment of the present invention applied to a TFT substrate of a liquid-crystal display device will be described.

FIG. 15 shows the structure of a TFT substrate of a liquid-crystal display device in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 15 , the same components as in the foregoing embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 15 , the display region on the TFT substrate 1 A is divided into a plurality of regions ( 1 A) 1 to ( 1 A) 10 . The signal-side peripheral circuit 12 B is externally attached to the TFT glass substrate 1 A, and includes a shift register 12 1 having the same number of stages as the regions ( 1 A) 1 to ( 1 A) 10 , a buffer circuit 12 2 that receives an output signal from each of the stages of the shift register 12 1 , and a selector circuit 12 3 that selects a signal line 12 among the plurality of regions ( 1 A) 1 to ( 1 A) 10 . The output of each stage of the shift register 12 1 is supplied to an analog switch circuit 12 4 constituted by TFT-CMOS circuits connected to the respective signal lines 12 . In accordance with a selected signal from the selector circuit 12 3 , the analog switch circuit 12 4 supplies the output signal of the shift register 12 1 to the selected signal line 12 for each of the regions ( 1 A) 1 to ( 1 A) 10 .

Additionally, the scanning-side peripheral circuit 13 B is formed on the TFT substrate 1 A in the structure shown in FIG. 15 .

FIG. 16 shows the structure of the scanning-side peripheral circuit 13 B of the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 16 , the scanning-side peripheral circuit 13 B comprises a bidirectional switch unit 13 1 that combines a p-channel TFT and an n-channel TFT; a shift register unit 13 2 that consists of a D-type flip-flop, a NAND gate, and an inverter; a multiplexer unit 13 3 constituted by NAND gate; and an output buffer circuit 13 4 constituted by inverters. In the p-channel TFT and the n-channel TFT that constitute the bidirectional switch unit 13 1 , an internal short-circuiting pattern equivalent to the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 SC or 41 SC of the foregoing embodiments is formed so as to short-circuit the source region and the drain region.

FIG. 17 shows the structure of the D-type flip-flop in FIG. 16 .

As shown in FIG. 17 , the D-type flip-flop includes TFT-CMOS circuits described in the foregoing embodiments. In each of the TFTs that constitute each TFT-CMOS circuit, a short-circuiting pattern equivalent to the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 SC or 41 SC is formed so as to short-circuit the source and the drain.

FIG. 18 shows a part of the output buffer unit 13 4 in the structure shown in FIG. 16 .

As shown in FIG. 18 , the output buffer unit 13 4 also includes TFT-CMOS circuits described in the foregoing embodiments. In each of the TFTs that constitute each TFT-CMOS circuit, a short-circuiting pattern equivalent to the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 SC or 41 SC is formed between the source and the drain.

FIG. 19 shows the structure of the NAND circuit in the structure shown in FIG. 16 .

As shown in FIG. 19 , a short-circuiting pattern equivalent to the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 SC and 41 SC is also formed between the source and drain in each of the p-channel TFTs and n-channel TFTs that constitute the NAND circuit.

FIG. 20 shows the structure of the analog switch circuit 12 4 in the structure shown in FIG. 15 .

As shown in FIG. 20 , in each of the p-channel TFTs and the n-channel TFTs that constitute the analog switch circuit 12 4 , a short-circuiting pattern equivalent to the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 SC or 41 SC of the foregoing embodiments is formed between the source and drain.

FIG. 21 shows the structure of a memory cell equivalent to the structure shown in FIG. 4 .

As shown in FIG. 21 , a short-circuiting pattern similar to the polysilicon short-circuiting pattern 21 SC or 41 SC of the foregoing embodiments is formed between the source and drain of the pixel TFT 11 .

In the structures shown in FIGS. 16 to 21 , each short-circuiting pattern is removed at the same time as or after the formation of the wiring pattern in the TFTs.

Seventh Embodiment

As described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5 C, during the production of a liquid-crystal display device, a resistance element r 0 is interposed between each of the connection pads 12 A and 13 A and a peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S so as to enable the testing of the TFT substrate being produced. In this structure, however, if there is a difference in internal resistance between the connection pads 12 A and 13 A, a potential difference is caused in each connection pad, resulting in electrostatic damage of the TFTs constituting the internal circuit connected to the connection pads.

To avoid such a problem, a resistance value of each resistance element that connects the connection pads 12 A and 13 A to the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S, as shown in FIG. 22 , is varied depending on the internal resistance value of the internal circuit connected to each of the connection pads 12 A and 13 A, so that the apparent resistance R is becomes constant in the connection pads 12 A and 13 A, as shown in FIG. 23 .

As shown in FIG. 23 , the apparent resistance value R is is represented as

R is =r i ×r in ( i )/[ r i +r in ( i )]

where the value of the internal resistance of the internal circuit connected to the connection pads 12 A and 13 A is r in (i) (i=1, 2, 3, . . . ), and r i represents the resistance value of each resistance element interposed between the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S and the connection pads 12 A and 13 A. In this embodiment, the value R is is set as a common value among the connection pads 12 A and 13 A.

FIG. 24 shows the structure of FIG. 23 in greater detail.

As shown in FIG. 24 , a resistance element having a resistance value r 1 is interposed between a contact pad 12 A 1 and the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S. Since the internal circuit, to which the contact pad 12 A 1 is connected, has a great input impedance r in ( 1 ) (r in ( 1 )>>r 1 ), the apparent resistance value R 1s at the contact pad 12 A 1 is substantially equal to the value r 1 (R 1s =r 1 ).

On the other hand, the value r 23 of the internal resistance between a contact pad 12 A 2 and a contact pad 12 A 3 is smaller than the value r in (1). Accordingly, the apparent resistance values R 2S and R 3S at the contact pads 12 A 2 and 12 A 3 are represented as follows:

R 2s =r 2 ×r in ( 2 )/[ r 2 +r in ( 2 )]

R 3s =r 3 ×r in ( 3 )/[ r 3 +r in ( 3 )]

where r in ( 2 )=r 23 +r 3 , and r in ( 3 )=r 23 +r 2 . The resistance values of the resistance elements r 2 and r 3 are set so that the values of R 2s and R 3s become equal to the value R 1s .

FIG. 25 shows the optimum setting of the resistance values of the resistance elements r 2 and r 3 .

In FIG. 25 , the optimum values of the resistance elements r 2 and r 3 to satisfy the condition R 2s =R 3s =R 1s (=1.0×10 5 Ω) are represented by solid circles &Circlesolid; in the form of a function of the internal resistance r 23 . On the other hand, squares □ represent a conventional case where the resistance elements r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 have the same resistance value, as in the case shown in FIGS. 5A to 5 C.

As shown in FIG. 25 , if the value of the internal resistance r 23 is great, the difference between this embodiment and the prior art is very small. However, if the value of the internal resistance r 23 is small, the difference between this embodiment and the prior art is great. In a liquid-crystal display device that includes TFT-CMOS circuits, the difference in resistance value is a serious problem. In this embodiment, however, such a problem can be effectively eliminated.

Eighth Embodiment

FIG. 26 shows example structures of resistance elements r 1 to r n in the liquid-crystal display device of FIG. 7 , in accordance with an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 26 , each resistance element is made up of conductive polysilicon patterns rp 1 , rp 2 , rp 3 , . . . connected to the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S. The polysilicon pattern rp 1 has a length L 1 and a width W 1 . Likewise, the polysilicon pattern rp 2 has a length L 2 and a width W 2 , and the polysilicon pattern rp 3 has a length L 3 and a width W 3 .

In FIG. 26 , the lengths L 1 , L 2 , and L 3 are the same while the widths W 1 , W 2 , and W 3 are varied, due to the positional relationship between the peripheral short-circuiting ring 15 S and the contact pads 12 A 1 to 12 A 3 . In this embodiment, the widths W 1 , W 2 , and W 3 are set so that the polysilicon patterns rp 1 to rp 3 satisfy the relationship shown in FIG. 25 .

Ninth Embodiment

FIG. 27A shows the structures of resistance elements r 1 to r n in accordance with a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 27A , the resistance element r 1 comprises diodes D 1a and D 1b that are arranged in opposite directions and connected in parallel to each other. Likewise, the resistance element r 2 comprises diodes D 2a and D 2b that are arranged in opposite directions and connected in parallel to each other. In addition, the resistance element r 3 comprises diodes D 3a and D 3b that are arranged in opposite directions and connected in parallel to each other. With the resistance elements r 1 to r 3 , the setting of the resistance values R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 described with reference to FIG. 25 can be achieved by the structure shown in FIGS. 28A and 28B .

As shown in an equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 28B , the structure shown in FIG. 28A has a TFT 1 and TFT 2 that are diode-connected in parallel to each other, and each have a gate length L. The channel widths W 1 and W 2 of the TFT 1 and TFT 2 are varied so that the desired resistance values can be obtained.

FIG. 27B shows a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 27A , in which modification of the connected TFT diodes is varied so as to obtain desired resistance values.

Tenth Embodiment

FIGS. 29A and 29B show the structures of resistance elements r 1 to r n in accordance with a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 29B , each resistance element has diodes connected in series to each other in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 29A , a diode-connected n-channel TFT and a p-channel TFT are connected in series. In this structure, the variation of diode characteristics with the fluctuation of the threshold voltage of the TFTs can be effectively compensated.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 30 , diode-connected TFTs having a multiple gate structure can be used as the resistance elements r 1 to r n .

The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, but variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The present application is based on Japanese priority application No. 11-310409, filed on Oct. 29, 1999, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Claims

1. A thin-film transistor comprising:an insulating substrate; a polysilicon pattern formed on the insulating substrate, the polysilicon pattern including a first region of a first conductivity, a second region of the first conductivity, and a channel region that connects the first region and the second region; a gate insulating film that covers the channel region; and a gate electrode pattern formed above the channel region, the polysilicon pattern further including a first extending portion that extends from the first region to a first tip end, and a second extending portion that extends from the second region to a second tip end, said first extending portion and said second extending portion extending along a surface of said substrate.

2. The thin-film transistor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first extending portion and the second extending portion have the same conductivity.

3. The thin-film transistor as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second insulating film formed on the insulating substrate in such a manner that the insulating film covers the polysilicon pattern and the gate electrode pattern,wherein the second insulating film has an opening exposing the first tip end and the second tip end at a location between the first extending portion and the second extending portion.