Abstract: In a field effect type device having a thin film-like active layer, there is provided a thin film-like semiconductor device including a top side gate electrode on the active layer and a bottom side gate electrode connected to a static potential, the bottom side gate electrode being provided between the active layer and a substrate. The bottom side gate electrode may be electrically connected to only one of a source and a drain of the field effect type device. Also, the production methods therefor are disclosed.

Abstract: A digital demodulator which will need no absolute phasing circuit is provided.

Abstract: An insulating film with a linear concave portion is formed and a semiconductor film is formed thereon by deposition. The semiconductor film is irradiated with laser light to melt the semiconductor film and the melted semiconductor is poured into the concave portion, where it is crystallized. This makes distortion or stress accompanying crystallization concentrate on other regions than the concave portion. A surface of this crystalline semiconductor film is etched away, thereby forming in the concave portion a crystalline semiconductor film which is covered with side walls of the concave portion from the sides and which has no other grain boundaries than twin crystal. TFTs and memory TFTs having this crystalline semiconductor film as their channel regions are highly reliable, have high field effect mobility, and are less fluctuated in characteristic. Accordingly, a highly reliable semiconductor memory device which can operate at high speed is obtained.

Abstract: An optical system including an objective lens applies five light beams (31 to 35) generated by an optical pickup to a plurality of adjacent tracks on a signal plane of a CD-ROM. Light beams reflected from the signal plane are detected with photodetectors (PD1, to PD6), and in accordance with the detection outputs of the photodetectors (PD1 to PD5), a record data read system reads at the same time data recorded on respective tracks applied with the light beams (31 to 35), and outputs to read data in the record order of CD-ROM by preventing the read data from being duplicated or omitted. Prior to reading record data, a system controller performs an offset bias adjustment of a focus servo system.

Abstract: The present invention is characterized in that gettering is performed such that impurity regions to which a noble gas element is added are formed in a semiconductor film and the metallic element included in the semiconductor film is segregated into the impurity regions by laser annealing. Also, a reflector is provided under a substrate on which a semiconductor film is formed. When laser light transmitted through the semiconductor film substrate is irradiated from the front side of the substrate, the laser beam is reflected by the reflector and thus the laser light can be irradiated to the semiconductor film from the read side thereof. Laser light can be also irradiated to low concentration impurity regions overlapped with a portion the gate electrode. Thus, an effective energy density in the semiconductor film is increased to thereby effect recovery of crystallinity and activation of the impurity element.

Abstract: It is intended to achieve the reduction in number of heat treatments carried out at high temperature (at least 600° C.) and the employment of lower temperature processes (600° C. or lower), and to achieve step simplification and throughput improvement. In the present invention, a barrier layer (105), a second semiconductor film (106), and a third semiconductor layer (108) containing an impurity element (phosphorus) that imparts one conductive type are formed on a first semiconductor film (104) having a crystalline structure. Gettering is carried out in which the metal element contained in the first semiconductor film (104) is allowed to pass through the barrier layer (105) and the second semiconductor film (106) by a heat treatment to move into the third semiconductor film (107). Afterward, the second and third semiconductor films (106) and (107) are removed with the barrier layer (105) used as an etching stopper.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a driving method of an active matrix display device, in which a signal for determination of an operation timing of TFTs is generated, an outputting of the signal for the determination of the operation timing is controlled in accordance with EN signals, and an image signal to the TFTs is outputted on the basis of the signal for the determination of the operating timing.

Abstract: This invention provides a semiconductor device having high operation performance and high reliability. An LDD region 707 overlapping with a gate wiring is arranged in an n-channel TFT 802 forming a driving circuit, and a TFT structure highly resistant to hot carrier injection is achieved. LDD regions 717, 718, 719 and 720 not overlapping with a gate wiring are arranged in an n-channel TFT 804 forming a pixel unit. As a result, a TFT structure having a small OFF current value is achieved. In this instance, an element belonging to the Group 15 of the Periodic Table exists in a higher concentration in the LDD region 707 than in the LDD regions 717, 718, 719 and 720.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium having a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film added therein a Group IV element of the periodic table such as silicon, particularly in the vicinity of the boundary between the magnetic material and the formed DLC film. Since a DLC having low friction coefficient can be formed, the centerline average roughness can be reduced to 30 nm or even less. Accordingly, a magnetic recording medium improved in magnetic properties and in lubricity can be obtained.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device; in the prior art has been high in its manufactural cost for the reason that TFTs have been fabricated using, at least, five photo-masks.

Abstract: A channel forming region of a thin-film transistor is covered with an electrode and wiring line that extends from a source line. As a result, the channel forming region is prevented from being illuminated with light coming from above the thin-film transistor, whereby the characteristics of the thin-film transistor can be made stable.

Abstract: A semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor layer having at least first and second impurity regions and a channel formation region formed on an insulating surface; a gate insulating film adjacent to the semiconductor layer; a gate electrode adjacent to the gate insulating film; a first insulating film formed over the insulating surface, the semiconductor layer, the gate insulating film and the gate electrode; a second insulating film comprising an organic resin formed on first insulating film; an electrode formed over the second insulating film and connected to the one of the first and second impurity regions; and a pixel electrode formed over the second insulating film.

Abstract: A method of fabricating silicon TFTs (thin-film transistors) is disclosed. The method comprises a crystallization step by laser irradiation effected after the completion of the device structure. First, amorphous silicon TFTs are fabricated. In each of the TFTs, the channel formation region, the source and drain regions are exposed to laser radiation illuminated from above or below the substrate. Then, the laser radiation is illuminated to crystallize and activate the channel formation region, and source and drain regions. After the completion of the device structure, various electrical characteristics of the TFTs are controlled. Also, the amorphous TFTs can be changed to polysilicon TFTs.

Abstract: Provided is an optical fiber that is in particular suitable for Raman amplification. An effective area at a wavelength of 1570 nm is in a range of 35 &mgr;m2 to 45 &mgr;m2, an absolute value of a dispersion slope at the wavelength is equal to or less than 0.04 ps/nm2/km, and a dispersion value at the wavelength is in a range of 5 ps/nm/km to 10 ps/nm/km. It is desirable that a refractive index profile contains at least one annular region between a center core and a cladding region.

Abstract: The present invention is provided in order to remove contamination due to contaminant impurities of the interfaces of each film which forms a TFT, which is the major factor that reduces the reliability of TFTs. By connecting a washing chamber and a film formation chamber, film formation can be carried out without exposing TFTs to the air during the time from washing step to the film formation step and it becomes possible to maintain the cleanliness of the interfaces of each film which form the TFT.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a display device. In particular, the display device of the present invention has a gate electrode over a substrate, the gate electrode has a lamination of a first conductive layer over the substrate and a second conductive layer on the first conductive layer; a semiconductor layer over the gate electrode with a gate insulating film interposed between; an insulating film in contact with a portion of the semiconductor layer; and at least one of source and drain electrodes formed in contact with a portion of the insulating film, where the first conductive layer does not have a tapered cross section, and the second conductive layer has a tapered cross section.

Abstract: A laser illumination apparatus for illuminating a semiconductor film with a linear laser beam while scanning the semiconductor film with the linear laser beam. An optical system generates a linear laser beam having a beam width W by dividing a pulse laser beam that is emitted from a pulsed laser light source into a plurality of beams vertically and horizontally, and combines divisional beams after they have been processed into a linear shape individually. A mechanism is provided to move a substrate that is mounted with the semiconductor film. A condition W/20≦&Dgr;(r)≦x≦W/5 or &Dgr;(r)≦W/20≦x≦W/5 is satisfied, where r is a height difference of the surface of the semiconductor film, &Dgr;(r) is a variation amount of the beam width W as a function of the height difference r, and x is a movement distance of the substrate during an oscillation period of the pulsed laser light source.

Abstract: Disposing the light absorption layer formed in contact with a polycrystal silicon layer of a bottom gate type polycrystal silicon TFT allows a depletion layer formed between drain and channel forming regions to extend further into the inside of the light absorption layer, resulting in collection of photo carriers produced in the depletion layer into the channel forming region. The photo carriers collected into the channel forming region are subsequently collected into the source region to be output as large photocurrents by high mobility of the polycrystal silicon.

Abstract: The illumination energy of an excimer laser is measured and adjusted to always effect illumination at constant energy. A laser beam output from an optics is reflected by a mirror, and applied to a sample. A beam profiler is disposed behind the mirror to measure the energy of an illumination laser beam. An energy attenuating device disposed between another mirror and the optics is operated based on the measurement value so that the energy of the laser beam applied to the sample is kept constant.

Abstract: In an active matrix display device integrated with peripheral drive circuits, an image sensor is provided on the same substrate as a pixel matrix and peripheral drive circuits. The image sensor is formed on the substrate having pixel electrodes, pixel TFTs connected to the pixel electrodes and CMOS-TFTs for driving the pixel TFTs. The light receiving unit of the image sensor has light receiving elements having a photoelectric conversion layer and light receiving TFTs. These TFTs are produced in the same step. The lower electrode and transparent electrode of the light receiving element are produced by patterning the same film as the light shielding film and the pixel electrodes arranged in the pixel matrix.