Patents by Inventor Masashi Tsubuku

Masashi Tsubuku has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240021695
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a oxide semiconductor layer provided on an insulating surface and having a channel area, a source area and a drain area sandwiching the channel area, a gate electrode opposite the channel area, and a gate insulating layer provided between the oxide semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, wherein the gate electrode is an oxide conductive layer having the same composition as the oxide semiconductor layer, and the oxide conductive layer includes the same impurity element as the source area and the drain area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2023
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Applicant: Japan Display Inc.
    Inventors: Hajime WATAKABE, Masashi TSUBUKU, Toshinari SASAKI, Takaya TAMARU
  • Publication number: 20240021668
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes an oxide semiconductor layer having a polycrystalline structure on an insulating surface, a gate electrode over the oxide semiconductor layer, and a gate insulating layer between the oxide semiconductor layer and the gate electrode. The oxide semiconductor layer includes a first region having a first crystal structure overlapping the gate electrode and a second region having a second crystal structure not overlapping the gate electrode. An electrical conductivity of the second region is larger than an electrical conductivity of the first region. The second crystal structure is identical to the first crystal structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2023
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Applicant: Japan Display Inc.
    Inventors: Hajime WATAKABE, Masashi TSUBUKU, Toshinari SASAKI, Takaya TAMARU
  • Publication number: 20240014222
    Abstract: The semiconductor device includes a driver circuit portion including a driver circuit and a pixel portion including a pixel. The pixel includes a gate electrode layer having a light-transmitting property, a gate insulating layer, a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer each having a light-transmitting property provided over the gate insulating layer, an oxide semiconductor layer covering top surfaces and side surfaces of the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer and provided over the gate electrode layer with the gate insulating layer therebetween, a conductive layer provided over part of the oxide semiconductor layer and having a lower resistance than the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer, and an oxide insulating layer in contact with part of the oxide semiconductor layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: January 11, 2024
    Inventors: Masayuki SAKAKURA, Yoshiaki OIKAWA, Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Junichiro SAKATA, Masashi TSUBUKU, Kengo AKIMOTO, Miyuki HOSOBA
  • Patent number: 11862643
    Abstract: It is an object to manufacture a highly reliable display device using a thin film transistor having favorable electric characteristics and high reliability as a switching element. In a bottom gate thin film transistor including an amorphous oxide semiconductor, an oxide conductive layer having a crystal region is formed between an oxide semiconductor layer which has been dehydrated or dehydrogenated by heat treatment and each of a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer which are formed using a metal material. Accordingly, contact resistance between the oxide semiconductor layer and each of the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer can be reduced; thus, a thin film transistor having favorable electric characteristics and a highly reliable display device using the thin film transistor can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Toshinari Sasaki, Junichiro Sakata, Masashi Tsubuku
  • Publication number: 20230420570
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating film which includes oxidized material containing silicon and covers the gate electrode, an oxide semiconductor film provided to be in contact with the gate insulating film and overlap with at least the gate electrode, and a source electrode and a drain electrode electrically connected to the oxide semiconductor film. In the oxide semiconductor film, a first region which is provided to be in contact with the gate insulating film and have a thickness less than or equal to 5 nm has a silicon concentration lower than or equal to 1.0 at. %, and a region in the oxide semiconductor film other than the first region has lower silicon concentration than the first region. At least the first region includes a crystal portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Inventors: Tatsuya HONDA, Masashi TSUBUKU, Yusuke NONAKA, Takashi SHIMAZU, Shunpei YAMAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20230420485
    Abstract: A display device includes an amorphous glass substrate, a first buffer layer on a first surface of the amorphous glass substrate, a transistor including a first gallium nitride layer over the first buffer layer, a second buffer layer on the first surface of the amorphous glass substrate, and a light emitting diode including a second gallium nitride layer over the second buffer layer. The transistor and the light emitting diode are electrically connected to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Applicant: Japan Display Inc.
    Inventors: Masanobu IKEDA, Masumi NISHIMURA, Masashi TSUBUKU
  • Publication number: 20230411410
    Abstract: To reduce a leakage current of a transistor so that malfunction of a logic circuit can be suppressed. The logic circuit includes a transistor which includes an oxide semiconductor layer having a function of a channel formation layer and in which an off current is 1×10?13 A or less per micrometer in channel width. A first signal, a second signal, and a third signal that is a clock signal are input as input signals. A fourth signal and a fifth signal whose voltage states are set in accordance with the first to third signals which have been input are output as output signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Jun KOYAMA, Masashi TSUBUKU, Kosei NODA
  • Publication number: 20230395726
    Abstract: A logic circuit includes a thin film transistor having a channel formation region formed using an oxide semiconductor, and a capacitor having terminals one of which is brought into a floating state by turning off the thin film transistor. The oxide semiconductor has a hydrogen concentration of 5×1019 (atoms/cm3) or less and thus substantially serves as an insulator in a state where an electric field is not generated. Therefore, off-state current of a thin film transistor can be reduced, leading to suppressing the leakage of electric charge stored in a capacitor, through the thin film transistor. Accordingly, a malfunction of the logic circuit can be prevented. Further, the excessive amount of current which flows in the logic circuit can be reduced through the reduction of off-state current of the thin film transistor, resulting in low power consumption of the logic circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2023
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Jun KOYAMA, Masashi TSUBUKU, Kosei NODA
  • Patent number: 11837461
    Abstract: An object is to reduce leakage current and parasitic capacitance of a transistor used for an LSI, a CPU, or a memory. A semiconductor integrated circuit such as an LSI, a CPU, or a memory is manufactured using a thin film transistor in which a channel formation region is formed using an oxide semiconductor which becomes an intrinsic or substantially intrinsic semiconductor by removing impurities which serve as electron donors (donors) from the oxide semiconductor and has larger energy gap than that of a silicon semiconductor. With use of a thin film transistor using a highly purified oxide semiconductor layer with sufficiently reduced hydrogen concentration, a semiconductor device with low power consumption due to leakage current can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Hiroyuki Miyake, Kei Takahashi, Kouhei Toyotaka, Masashi Tsubuku, Kosei Noda, Hideaki Kuwabara
  • Publication number: 20230387322
    Abstract: A semiconductor device including: an oxide semiconductor layer including a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a gate electrode facing the oxide semiconductor layer; a gate insulating layer between the oxide semiconductor layer and the gate electrode; and a pair of first electrode being in contact with the first surface of the oxide semiconductor layer, respectively, wherein the oxide semiconductor layer including a region in which composition ratio of nitrogen is 2 percent or more within a depth range of 2 nanometers from the first surface in a region vicinity of an edge of at least one of the first electrode of the pair of first electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2023
    Publication date: November 30, 2023
    Applicant: Japan Display Inc.
    Inventors: Takaya TAMARU, Masashi TSUBUKU, Toshinari SASAKI, Hajime WATAKABE
  • Publication number: 20230369341
    Abstract: A metal oxide film including a crystal part and having highly stable physical properties is provided. The size of the crystal part is less than or equal to 10 nm, which allows the observation of circumferentially arranged spots in a nanobeam electron diffraction pattern of the cross section of the metal oxide film when the measurement area is greater than or equal to 5 nm? and less than or equal to 10 nm?.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: Masahiro TAKAHASHI, Takuya HIROHASHI, Masashi TSUBUKU, Noritaka ISHIHARA, Masashi OOTA
  • Patent number: 11791415
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating film which includes oxidized material containing silicon and covers the gate electrode, an oxide semiconductor film provided to be in contact with the gate insulating film and overlap with at least the gate electrode, and a source electrode and a drain electrode electrically connected to the oxide semiconductor film. In the oxide semiconductor film, a first region which is provided to be in contact with the gate insulating film and have a thickness less than or equal to 5 nm has a silicon concentration lower than or equal to 1.0 at. %, and a region in the oxide semiconductor film other than the first region has lower silicon concentration than the first region. At least the first region includes a crystal portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Honda, Masashi Tsubuku, Yusuke Nonaka, Takashi Shimazu, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Publication number: 20230317834
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes: forming a first metal oxide layer containing aluminum as a main component above a substrate; forming an oxide semiconductor layer above the first metal oxide layer; forming a gate insulating layer above the oxide semiconductor layer; forming a second metal oxide layer containing aluminum as a main component above the gate insulating layer; performing a heat treatment in a state where the second metal oxide layer is formed above the gate insulating layer; removing the second metal oxide layer after the heat treatment; and forming a gate electrode above the gate insulating layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2023
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Applicant: Japan Display Inc.
    Inventors: Hajime WATAKABE, Masashi TSUBUKU, Toshinari SASAKI, Takaya TAMARU
  • Publication number: 20230317833
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes; forming an oxide semiconductor layer above a substrate; forming a gate insulating layer above the oxide semiconductor layer; forming a metal oxide layer containing aluminum as a main component above the gate insulating layer; performing a heat treatment in a state where the metal oxide layer is formed above the gate insulating layer; removing the metal oxide layer after the heat treatment; and forming a gate electrode above the gate insulating layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2023
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Applicant: Japan Display Inc.
    Inventors: Hajime WATAKABE, Masashi TSUBUKU, Toshinari SASAKI, Takaya TAMARU
  • Publication number: 20230299209
    Abstract: A display device including a pixel having a memory. The pixel includes at least a display element, a capacitor, an inverter, and a switch. The switch is controlled with a signal held in the capacitor and a signal output from the inverter so that voltage is supplied to the display element. The inverter and the switch can be constituted by transistors with the same polarity. A semiconductor layer included in the pixel may be formed using a light-transmitting material. Moreover, a gate electrode, a drain electrode, and a capacitor electrode may be formed using a light-transmitting conductive layer. The pixel is formed using a light-transmitting material in such a manner, whereby the display device can be a transmissive display device while including a pixel having a memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Inventors: Hajime KIMURA, Kengo AKIMOTO, Masashi TSUBUKU, Toshinari SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20230292551
    Abstract: A display device includes a light-emitting element; a first transistor and a second transistor connected in series between the light-emitting element and a driving power line; a third transistor electrically connected to a gate electrode of the first transistor; and a fourth transistor connected in parallel between a drain electrode of the first transistor and the light-emitting element, wherein a ratio of a channel width W1 to a channel length L1 of the first transistor (a W1/L1 ratio) and a ratio of a channel width W2 to a channel length L2 of the second transistor (a W2/L2 ratio) are larger than a ratio of a channel width W3 to a channel length L3 of the third transistor (a W3/L3 ratio) and a ratio of a channel width W4 to a channel length L4 of the fourth transistor (a W4/L4 ratio).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2023
    Publication date: September 14, 2023
    Applicant: Japan Display Inc.
    Inventors: Masashi TSUBUKU, Takeshi SAKAI, Kentaro MIURA, Hajime WATAKABE, Takaya TAMARU, Hiroshi TABATAKE, Yutaka UMEDA
  • Patent number: 11756966
    Abstract: To reduce a leakage current of a transistor so that malfunction of a logic circuit can be suppressed. The logic circuit includes a transistor which includes an oxide semiconductor layer having a function of a channel formation layer and in which an off current is 1×10?13 A or less per micrometer in channel width. A first signal, a second signal, and a third signal that is a clock signal are input as input signals. A fourth signal and a fifth signal whose voltage states are set in accordance with the first to third signals which have been input are output as output signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Masashi Tsubuku, Kosei Noda
  • Patent number: 11742432
    Abstract: A logic circuit includes a thin film transistor having a channel formation region formed using an oxide semiconductor, and a capacitor having terminals one of which is brought into a floating state by turning off the thin film transistor. The oxide semiconductor has a hydrogen concentration of 5×1019 (atoms/cm3) or less and thus substantially serves as an insulator in a state where an electric field is not generated. Therefore, off-state current of a thin film transistor can be reduced, leading to suppressing the leakage of electric charge stored in a capacitor, through the thin film transistor. Accordingly, a malfunction of the logic circuit can be prevented. Further, the excessive amount of current which flows in the logic circuit can be reduced through the reduction of off-state current of the thin film transistor, resulting in low power consumption of the logic circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Masashi Tsubuku, Kosei Noda
  • Publication number: 20230260785
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a sputtering target with which an oxide semiconductor film with a small amount of defects can be formed is provided. Alternatively, an oxide semiconductor film with a small amount of defects is formed. A method for manufacturing a sputtering target is provided, which includes the steps of: forming a polycrystalline In-M-Zn oxide (M represents a metal chosen among aluminum, titanium, gallium, yttrium, zirconium, lanthanum, cesium, neodymium, and hafnium) powder by mixing, sintering, and grinding indium oxide, an oxide of the metal, and zinc oxide; forming a mixture by mixing the polycrystalline In-M-Zn oxide powder and a zinc oxide powder; forming a compact by compacting the mixture; and sintering the compact.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2023
    Publication date: August 17, 2023
    Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Masashi TSUBUKU, Masashi OOTA, Yoichi KUROSAWA, Noritaka ISHIHARA
  • Patent number: 11695019
    Abstract: The semiconductor device includes a driver circuit portion including a driver circuit and a pixel portion including a pixel. The pixel includes a gate electrode layer having a light-transmitting property, a gate insulating layer, a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer each having a light-transmitting property provided over the gate insulating layer, an oxide semiconductor layer covering top surfaces and side surfaces of the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer and provided over the gate electrode layer with the gate insulating layer therebetween, a conductive layer provided over part of the oxide semiconductor layer and having a lower resistance than the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer, and an oxide insulating layer in contact with part of the oxide semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Sakakura, Yoshiaki Oikawa, Shunpei Yamazaki, Junichiro Sakata, Masashi Tsubuku, Kengo Akimoto, Miyuki Hosoba