Abstract: An amorphous silicon film on an insulating substrate portion to be formed as an individual display panel in a large-sized insulating substrate is irradiated with a continuous-wave (CW) solid-state laser beam condensed linearly, while being scanned therewith at a fixed speed in the width direction of the condensed laser beam. A pixel portion and a peripheral circuit portion in the same insulating substrate portion are irradiated with the laser beam temporally modulated to have a power density high enough to provide predetermined crystallinity. The amorphous silicon film is transformed into a silicon film having crystallinity corresponding to performance required for thin film transistors to be built in each of the pixel portion and the peripheral circuit portion. In such a manner, a thin film transistor circuit having optimum crystallinity required in the pixel or peripheral circuit portion can be obtained while high throughput is kept.

Abstract: The whole surface of an insulating substrate having an amorphous silicon film formed thereon is scanned/irradiated with a solid-state pulsed laser beam shaped linearly or rectangularly, to form a uniform fine poly-crystalline silicon film for forming a pixel region. The periphery of the pixel region is scanned/irradiated with a time-modulated continuous-wave solid-state laser beam formed linearly. Thus, a peripheral circuit region including a drive circuit is formed as a poly-crystalline silicon film with crystals growing up in the scanning direction. Pixel portion thin film transistors are produced in the uniform fine poly-crystalline silicon film, while a drive circuit or an interface circuit is produced in the peripheral circuit region. One of substrates of a display panel is formed thus. A display panel including transistors with uniform properties in the pixel portion and transistors with excellent properties in the peripheral circuit portion including the drive circuit is obtained.

Abstract: Agglomeration of a polycrystalline silicon film is eliminated at the time of obtaining a high quality polycrystalline silicon film by forming a silicon layer on an insulating film substrate and conducting long-term melting and re-crystallization. For this purpose, a layer or a plurality of layers of an underlayer UCL are provided on an insulating substrate GLS, the area near the surface in contact with a precursory silicon film PCF provided on this underlayer UCL is formed as an insulating film UCLP showing a film composition to improve the wettability of the melted silicon layer, and thereafter a high quality polycrystalline silicon film PSI is formed through elimination of agglomeration by melting of the precursory silicon film PCF using a laser beam LSR.

Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor thin film. includes a highly sensitive inspection method for detecting lateral crystals and a crystallizing method. In the crystallizing method, the time-based pulse width of a laser SXL is modulated and an approximate band-like crystal silicon film SPSI is formed in a desired region while scanning the substrate SUB1 bidirectionally in the X and ?X directions. In the inspection method, an inspection beam PRO1 is irradiated to the substrate just after the laser SXL is turned off. A protrusion TOKI will be formed on the silicon film portion where the laser SXL is turned off if the state of the silicon film is that of a lateral crystal SPSI. The inspection beam PRO1 is scattered by the protrusion TOKI and observed by a detector. If the state of the silicon film is granular crystal GGSI or aggregated film AGSI, such a protrusion TOKI is not observed.

Abstract: A laser beam temporally modulated in amplitude by a modulator and shaped into a long and narrow shape by a beam shaper is rotated around the optical axis of an image rotator inserted between the beam shaper and a substrate. Thus, the longitudinal direction of the laser beam having the long and narrow shape is rotated around the optical axis on the substrate. In order to perform annealing in a plurality of directions on the substrate, the laser beam shaped into the long and narrow shape is rotated on the substrate while a stage mounted with the substrate is moved only in two directions, that is, X- and Y-directions. In such a manner, the substrate can be scanned at a high speed with a continuous wave laser beam modulated temporally in amplitude and shaped into a long and narrow shape, without rotating the substrate. Thus, a semiconductor film can be annealed.

Abstract: When a laser bean temporally modulated in amplitude by a modulator is shaped into a long and narrow beam by a beam shaper, the scanning-direction size of the long and narrow beam shaped by the beam shaper is selected to be in a range of from 2 to 10 microns, preferably in a range of from 2 to 4 microns and the scanning speed of the beam is selected to be in a range of from 300 to 1000 mm/s, preferably in a range of from 500 to 1000 m/s. As a result, damage of the silicon thin film can be suppressed while energy utilizing efficiency of the laser beam can be improved. Accordingly, laterally grown crystals (belt-like crystals) improved in throughput can be obtained on a required region of a substrate scanned and irradiated with the laser beam.

Abstract: A mechanism for always measuring the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam and displacement of the optical axis of the laser beam is provided so that a measured signal is processed when the laser beam incident on a laser beam shaping optical element is out of a predetermined condition. The shape, diameter and incidence position of the laser beam incident on the laser beam shaping optical element are always kept in the predetermined condition by a spatial filter disposed at the position of a focal point of lenses forming a beam expander disposed in the optical axis, on the basis of a result of the signal processing. In this manner, silicon thin films uniform in crystallinity can be formed stably with a high yield on an insulating substrate which forms display panels of flat panel display devices.

Abstract: A semiconductor thin film is manufactured by scanning laser light or a substrate onto an arbitrary region of the semiconductor thin film and irradiating a laser thereon. The semiconductor thin film is formed by the substantially belt-shaped crystal being crystallized such that crystalline grains grow in the scanning direction, on the substrate, on XY coordinates where value x of beam size W (?m) of the laser light measured in substantially the same direction as the scanning direction is defined as X axis, and where value y of scanning velocity Vs (m/s) is defined as Y axis, the crystallization processing is performed within a region where all of the following conditions hold: condition 1: the beam size W is larger than wavelength of the laser beam, condition 2: the scanning velocity Vs is smaller than upper-limit of crystal growth speed, and condition 3: x×(1/y)<25 ?s.

Abstract: An amorphous silicon film on an insulating substrate portion to be formed as an individual display panel in a large-sized insulating substrate is irradiated with a continuous-wave (CW) solid-state laser beam condensed linearly, while being scanned therewith at a fixed speed in the width direction of the condensed laser beam. A pixel portion and a peripheral circuit portion in the same insulating substrate portion are irradiated with the laser beam temporally modulated to have a power density high enough to provide predetermined crystallinity. The amorphous silicon film is transformed into a silicon film having crystallinity corresponding to performance required for thin film transistors to be built in each of the pixel portion and the peripheral circuit portion. In such a manner, a thin film transistor circuit having optimum crystallinity required in the pixel or peripheral circuit portion can be obtained while high throughput is kept.

Abstract: The whole surface of an insulating substrate having an amorphous silicon film formed thereon is scanned/irradiated with a solid-state pulsed laser beam shaped linearly or rectangularly, to form a uniform fine poly-crystalline silicon film for forming a pixel region. The periphery of the pixel region is scanned/irradiated with a time-modulated continuous-wave solid-state laser beam formed linearly. Thus, a peripheral circuit region including a drive circuit is formed as a poly-crystalline silicon film with crystals growing up in the scanning direction. Pixel portion thin film transistors are produced in the uniform fine poly-crystalline silicon film, while a drive circuit or an interface circuit is produced in the peripheral circuit region. One of substrates of a display panel is formed thus. A display panel including transistors with uniform properties in the pixel portion and transistors with excellent properties in the peripheral circuit portion including the drive circuit is obtained.