Abstract: An object is to provide an active matrix liquid crystal display device in which plural kinds of circuits are formed over one substrate and plural kinds of thin film transistors are provided corresponding to characteristics of the plural kinds of circuits. An inverted-coplanar thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer which is over and overlaps with a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer is used for a pixel thin film transistor. A channel-protective thin film transistor is used for a driver-circuit thin film transistor is used. In addition, main parts of the pixel thin film transistor are formed using a light-transmitting material, so that the aperture ratio is increased.

Abstract: A light-emitting element is disclosed that can drive at a low driving voltage and that has a longer lifetime than the conventional light-emitting element, and a method is disclosed for manufacturing the light-emitting element. The disclosed light-emitting element includes a plurality of layers between a pair of electrodes; and at least one layer among the plurality of layers contains one compound selected from the group consisting of oxide semiconductor and a metal oxide, and a compound having high hole transportation properties. Such the light-emitting element can suppress the crystallization of a layer containing one compound selected from the group consisting of oxide semiconductor and a metal oxide, and a compound having high hole transportation properties. As a result, a lifetime of the light-emitting element can be extended.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a material which does not substantially have a hole injection barrier from an electrode. A composite material containing an organic compound and an inorganic compound, in which measured current-voltage characteristics of a thin-film layer formed from the composite material which is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes each having a work function of 3.5 eV to 5.5 eV follow Formula (1) below, is manufactured.

Abstract: To sophisticate a portable electronic appliance without hindering reduction of the weight and the size, more specifically, to sophisticate a liquid crystal display apparatus installed in a portable electronic appliance without hindering the mechanical strength, a liquid crystal display apparatus includes a first plastic substrate, a light-emitting device which is disposed over the first plastic substrate, resin which covers the light-emitting device, an insulating film which is in contact with the resin, a semiconductor device which is in contact with the insulating film, a liquid crystal cell which is electrically connected to the semiconductor device, and a second plastic substrate, wherein the semiconductor device and the liquid crystal cell are disposed between the first plastic substrate and the second plastic substrate.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a semiconductor device having: an interposer; a wiring provided on the interposer; a first chip having a first semiconductor device, a first pad and a first solder ball over the interposer, the first semiconductor device being connected to the first pad and the first pad being connected to the first solder ball; a second chip having a second semiconductor device, a second pad and a second solder ball over the first chip, the second semiconductor device being connected to the second pad and the second pad being connected to the second solder ball; and a terminal provided at a rear side of the interposer, where the wiring and the first chip are connected via the first solder ball, where the first chip and the second chip are connected via the second solder ball, and where the terminal is connected to the first semiconductor device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device comprising: a pair of substrates having an electrode arrangement thereon; an orientation control means provided on at least one of said substrates; and a ferroelectric or antiferroelectric liquid crystal layer interposed between said substrates, said liquid crystal layer being uniaxially oriented by virtue of said orientation control means, wherein means for suppressing an orientation control effect of said orientation control means with respect to said liquid crystal layer is provided between said liquid crystal layer and said orientation control means.

Abstract: A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device which is superior in writing property and charge holding property, including a semiconductor substrate in which a channel formation region is formed between a pair of impurity regions, and a first insulating layer, a floating gate, a second insulating layer, and a control gate over the semiconductor substrate. The floating gate includes at least two layers. It is preferable that a band gap of a first layer included in the floating gate, which is in contact with the first insulating layer, be smaller than that of the semiconductor substrate. For example, it is preferable that the band gap of the semiconductor material for forming the floating gate be smaller than that of the channel formation region in the semiconductor substrate by 0.1 eV or more.

Abstract: In a mobile telephone terminal at the transmitting end, voice data to be transmitted are sequentially inputted, and it is determined whether the inputted voice data are silent. The voice data regarded as silent voice are replaced by group numbers, while the voice data indicative of sonant voice as well as the group numbers as replaced are transmitted by wireless. On the other hand, in a mobile telephone terminal at the receiving end, the signals transmitted by wireless are received, and the voice data and group numbers of the received signals are discriminated. The voice data are reproduced as they are, while the group numbers are reproduced as silent, and further processings based on the group numbers are executed. This allows predetermined data to be repetitively transmitted with a high efficiency without degrading communication quality very much. This also facilitates a follow-up participation in a group call.

Abstract: To provide a method of releasing charges which have been injected into charge accumulating layers of nonvolatile memory elements without using a substrate terminal such as a p well or an n well, as a method for deleting data from a NAND-type nonvolatile memory. In the method for deleting data from the NAND-type nonvolatile memory, charges stored in a charge accumulating layer of a first nonvolatile memory element are released by applying a first potential to a bit line and a source line, a second potential to a control gate of the first nonvolatile memory element, and a third potential which is different from the second potential to a control gate of a second nonvolatile memory element.

Abstract: By a laser crystallization method, a crystalline semiconductor film in which grain boundaries are all in one direction is provided as well as a manufacturing method thereof. In crystallizing a semiconductor film formed over a substrate with linear laser light, a phase-shift mask in which trenches are formed in a stripe form is used. The stripe-form trenches formed in the phase-shift mask are formed so as to make a nearly perpendicular angle with a major axis direction of the linear laser light. CW laser light is used as the laser light, and a scanning direction of the laser light is nearly parallel to a direction of the stripe-form trenches (grooves). By changing luminance of the laser light periodically in the major axis direction, a crystal nucleation position in a semiconductor that is completely melted can be controlled.

Abstract: An object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device having a highly functional memory element with improved reliability, and to provide a technique for manufacturing such a highly reliable semiconductor device with a high yield at low cost without complicating an apparatus or a process. As a top view shape of a memory element, a rectangular shape having a projection and a depression on the periphery, a zigzagged shape having one or plural bends, a comb shape, a ring shape having an opening (space) inside, or the like is used. Alternatively, a rectangle with a ratio of a long side to a short side being high, an ellipse with a ratio of a long axis to a short axis being high, or the like can also be used.

Abstract: Adhesion defects between a single crystal semiconductor layer and a support substrate are reduced to manufacture an SOI substrate achiving high bonding strength between the single crystal semiconductor layer and the support substrate.

Abstract: A simply configured speech synthesis device and the like for producing a natural synthetic speech at high speed. When data representing a message template is supplied, a voice unit editor (5) searches a voice unit database (7) for voice unit data on a voice unit whose sound matches a voice unit in the message template. Further, the voice unit editor (5) predicts the cadence of the message template and selects, one at a time, a best match of each voice unit in the message template from the voice unit data that has been retrieved, according to the cadence prediction result. For a voice unit for which no match can be selected, an acoustic processor (41) is instructed to supply waveform data representing the waveform of each unit voice. The voice unit data that is selected and the waveform data that is supplied by the acoustic processor (41) are combined to generate data representing a synthetic speech.

Abstract: It is an object to form a high-quality crystalline semiconductor layer directly over a large-sized substrate with high productivity without reducing the deposition rate and to provide a photoelectric conversion device in which the crystalline semiconductor layer is used as a photoelectric conversion layer. A photoelectric conversion layer formed of a semi-amorphous semiconductor is formed over a substrate as follows: a reaction gas is introduced into a treatment chamber where the substrate is placed; and a microwave is introduced into the treatment chamber through a slit provided for a waveguide that is disposed in approximately parallel to and opposed to the substrate, thereby generating plasma. By forming a photoelectric conversion layer using such a semi-amorphous semiconductor, a rate of deterioration in characteristics by light deterioration is decreased from one-fifth to one-tenth, and thus a photoelectric conversion device that has almost no problems for practical use can be obtained.

Abstract: The present invention provides a light-emitting element having less increase in driving voltage with the accumulation of light-emission time, and provides a light-emitting element having less increase in resistance value with the increase in film thickness. A light-emitting element includes a first layer, a second layer and a third layer between a first electrode and a second electrode. The first layer is provided to be closer to the first electrode than the second layer, and the third layer is provided to be closer to the second electrode than the second layer. The first layer is a layer including an aromatic amine compound and a substance showing an electron accepting property to the aromatic amine compound. The second layer includes a substance of which an electron transporting property is stronger than a hole transporting property, and a substance showing an electron donating property to the aforementioned substance.

Abstract: A photoelectric conversion device includes: a first substrate of which end portions are cut off so as to slope or with a groove shape; a photodiode and an amplifier circuit over the first substrate; a first electrode electrically connected to the photodiode and provided over one end portion of the first substrate; a second electrode electrically connected to the amplifier circuit and provided over an another end portion of the first substrate; and a second substrate having third and fourth electrodes thereon. The first and second electrodes are attached to the third and fourth electrodes, respectively, with a conductive material provided not only at the surfaces of the first, second, third, and fourth electrodes facing each other but also at the side surfaces of the first and second electrodes to increase the adhesiveness between a photoelectric conversion device and a member on which the photoelectric conversion device is mounted.

Abstract: It is provided a display device that prevents, when applying a reverse bias, an anode line and a power supply line included in a signal line driver circuit from being short-circuited, and a driving method thereof. According to the invention, a reverse bias applying circuit is provided in a scan line driver circuit or a signal line driver circuit, a signal from the reverse bias applying circuit is supplied to a transistor disposed between a signal line and an anode line, and thereby the transistor is turned off. The reverse bias applying circuit comprises an analog switch or a clocked inverter and a biasing transistor, and drives so as to invert potentials of the anode line and a cathode line and apply a reverse bias to a light emitting element, while turn off the analog switch and turn on the biasing transistor. Then, a potential of the anode line becomes equal to that of a scan line, and thereby turning off the transistor between the anode line and the signal line assuredly.

Abstract: In an embodiment, an insulating film is formed over a flat surface; a mask is formed over the insulating film; a slimming process is performed on the mask; an etching process is performed on the insulating film using the mask; a conductive film covering the insulating film is formed; a polishing process is performed on the conductive film and the insulating film, so that the conductive film and the insulating film have equal thicknesses; the conductive film is etched, so that a source electrode and a drain electrode which are thinner than the conductive film are formed; an oxide semiconductor film is formed in contact with the insulating film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode; a gate insulating film covering the oxide semiconductor film is formed; and a gate electrode is formed in a region which is over the gate insulating film and overlaps with the insulating film.

Abstract: An object is to manufacture a highly reliable semiconductor device including a thin film transistor with stable electric characteristics. In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a thin film transistor in which an oxide semiconductor film is used for a semiconductor layer including a channel formation region, heat treatment (for dehydration or dehydrogenation) is performed to improve the purity of the oxide semiconductor film and reduce impurities including moisture or the like. After that, slow cooling is performed under an oxygen atmosphere. Besides impurities including moisture or the like exiting in the oxide semiconductor film, heat treatment causes reduction of impurities including moisture or the like exiting in a gate insulating layer and those in interfaces between the oxide semiconductor film and films which are provided over and below the oxide semiconductor and in contact therewith.

Abstract: An object is to provide a light-emitting element which exhibits light emission with high luminance and can be driven at low voltage. Another object is to provide a light-emitting device or an electronic device with reduced power consumption. Between an anode and a cathode, n (n is a natural number of two or more) EL layers are provided, where between a first EL layer and a second EL layer, a first layer containing any of an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, a rare earth metal, an alkali metal compound, an alkaline earth metal compound, and a rare earth metal compound, a second layer containing a material having a high electron-transporting property in contact with the first layer, and a region containing a material having a high hole-transporting property and an acceptor material in contact with the second layer are provided in this order from the anode side.