Abstract: A semiconductor thin film is formed having a lateral growth region which is a collection of columnar or needle-like crystals extending generally parallel with a substrate. The semiconductor thin film is illuminated with laser light or strong light having equivalent energy. As a result, adjacent columnar or needle-like crystals are joined together to form a region having substantially no grain boundaries, i.e., a monodomain region which can substantially be regarded as a single crystal. A semiconductor device is formed by using the monodomain region as an active layer.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to realize a numerical aperture higher than that of a pixel having a conventional construction by using a pixel circuit having a novel construction in an electro-optical device. Therefore, it is utilized that the electric potential of a gate signal line in a row except for an i-th row is set to a constant electric potential in a period except for when a gate signal line (106) in the i-th row is selected. A gate signal line 111 in an (i−1)-th row is also used as an electric current supply line for an EL element (103) controlled by the gate signal line (106) in the i-th row. Thus, wiring number is reduced and high numerical aperture is realized.

Abstract: To provide a thin film transistor having a low OFF characteristic and to provide P-channel type and N-channel type thin film transistors where a difference in characteristics of the P-channel type and the N-channel type thin film transistors is corrected, a region 145 having a P-type behavior more potential than that of a drain region 146 is arranged between a channel forming region 134 and the drain region 146 in the P-channel type thin film transistor whereby the P-channel type thin film transistor having the low OFF characteristic can be provided and a low concentration impurity region 136 is arranged between a channel forming region 137 and a drain region 127 in the N-channel type thin film transistor whereby the N-channel type thin film transistor having the low OFF characteristic and where deterioration is restrained can be provided.

Abstract: An active matrix display device has a number of pixels arranged in matrix form, signal lines for supplying display signals to the pixels, and a driver circuit for driving the signal lines. The driver circuit includes a frequency divider circuit for frequency-dividing input multi-phase clock signals, a synchronous counter circuit for frequency-dividing part of the input multi-phase clock signals, and a decoder circuit for selecting a desired one of the signal lines based on outputs of the frequency divider circuit and the synchronous counter circuit.

Abstract: A reflective type active matrix liquid crystal display device is provided which is capable of offering preferred images. The present invention provides a reflective type display device comprising an insulation substrate, a TFT array formed over the insulation substrate and having a plurality of pixel TFTs formed in a matrix form, at least one driver circuit formed over the substrate and having a plurality of driver TFTs to drive the TFT array, a reflective pixel electrode connected to the pixel TFTs and arranged above part or an entire of the driver circuit, and at least one power source interconnect connected to the driver circuit and formed between the reflective pixel electrode and one of a source electrode and a drain electrode of the driver TFTs. This power source interconnect serves to shield against electrical noise caused by the driver TFTs constituting the driver circuit.

Abstract: A little amount of nickel is introduced into an amorphous silicon film formed on a glass substrate to crystallize the amorphous silicon film by heating. In this situation, nickel elements remain in a crystallized silicon film. An amorphous silicon film is formed on the surface of the crystallized silicon film and then subjected to a heat treatment. With this heat treatment, the nickel elements are diffused in the amorphous silicon film, thereby being capable of lowering the concentration of nickel in the crystallized silicon film.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a driver circuit for use with a passive matrix or active matrix electrooptical display device such as a liquid crystal display. The driver circuit occupies less space than heretofore. A circuit (stick crystal) having a length substantially equal to the length of one side of the matrix of the display device is used as the driver circuit. The circuit is bonded to one substrate of the display device, and then the terminals of the circuit are connected with the terminals of the display device. Subsequently, the substrate of the driver circuit is removed. This makes the configuration of the circuit much simpler than the configuration of the circuit heretofore required by the TAB method or COG method, because conducting lines are not laid in a complex manner. The driver circuit can be formed on a large-area substrate such as a glass substrate. The display device can be formed on a lightweight material having a high shock resistance such as a plastic substrate.

Abstract: A laser-annealing method includes the steps of a first step of cleaning a non-monocrystal silicon film formed on a substrate, and a second step of laser-annealing the non-monocrystal silicon film in an atmosphere containing oxygen therein, wherein the first and second steps are conducted continuously without being exposed to the air. Also, a laser-annealing device includes a cleaning chamber, and a laser irradiation chamber, wherein a substrate to be processed is transported between the cleaning chamber and the laser irradiation chamber without being exposed to the air.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor vertical channel semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same. The method starts with forming an insulator for device isolating having a depth D in a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate is etched with an etch depth d so that elevated portions are formed. A first conductive film is formed covering the elevated portions. After selectively and isotropically etched, the first conductive film is anisotropically etched so as to form floating gates on the side surfaces of the elevated portions. Sequently, a device insulating may be performed by selective oxidation technology. Further, a second conductive film is formed and anisotropically etched so that control gates are fabricated on the side surfaces of the elevated portions. In this case, forming a mask on predetermined regions of the elevated portions, the second conductive film may be etched to form gates of planar transistors or wirings.

Abstract: A linear pulse laser beam to be applied to an illumination surface is so formed as to have, at the focus, an energy profile in the width direction which satisfies inequalities 0.5L1≦L2≦L1 and 0.5L1≦L3≦L1 where assuming that a maximum energy is 1, L1 is a beam width of two points having an energy of 0.95 and L1+L2+L3 is a beam width of two points having an energy of 0.70, L2 and L3 occupying two peripheral portions of the beam width. According to another aspect of the invention, a compound-eye-like fly-eye lens for expanding a pulse laser beam in a sectional manner is provided upstream of a cylindrical lens for converging the laser beam into a linear beam.

Abstract: In a semiconductor device, pining regions 105 are disposed along the junction portion of a drain region 102 and a channel forming region 106 locally in a channel width direction. With this structure, because the spread of a depletion layer from a drain side is restrained by the pining regions 105, a short-channel effect can be restrained effectively. Also, because a passage through which carriers move is ensured, high mobility can be maintained.

Abstract: An auxiliary capacitor for a pixel of an active matrix type liquid crystal display is provided without decreasing the aperture ratio. A transparent conductive film for a common electrode is formed under a pixel electrode constituted by a transparent conductive film with an insulation film provided therebetween. Further, the transparent conductive film for the common electrode is maintained at fixed potential, formed so as to cover a gate bus line and a source bus line, and configured such that signals on each bus line are not applied to the pixel electrode. The pixel electrode is disposed so that all edges thereof overlap the gate bus line and source bus line. As a result, each of the bus lines serves as a black matrix. Further, the pixel electrode overlaps the transparent conductive film for the common electrode to form a storage capacitor.

Abstract: Two kinds of a thin film semiconductor unit are disposed over a substrate. A first thin film semiconductor unit includes a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film, and a second thin film semiconductor unit includes an amorphous semiconductor thin film.

Abstract: A driver circuit integration type (monolithic type) active matrix display device having high performance is formed by using thin film transistors (TFT). While a nickel element is added t an amorphous silicon film 203, a head treatment is carried out to thereby crystallize the amorphous silicon film. Further, by carrying out a heat treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere containing a halogen element, a thermal oxidation film 209 is formed. At this time, cyrstallinity is improved and gettering of the nickel element proceeds. TFTs are formed by using the thus obtained crystalline silicon film, and various circuits are constituted by using the TFTs, so that a data driver circuit capable of driving the active matrix circuit having the dot number of fifty thousands to three millions can be obtained.

Abstract: To form a wiring electrode having excellent contact function, in covering a contact hole formed in an insulting film, a film of a wiring material comprising aluminum or including aluminum as a major component is firstly formed and on top of the film, a film having an element belonging to 12 through 15 groups as a major component is formed and by carrying out a heating treatment at 400° C. for 0.5 through 2 hr in an atmosphere including hydrogen, the wiring material is provided with fluidity and firm contact is realized.

Abstract: There are disposed two homogenizers for controlling an irradiation energy density in the longitudinal direction of a laser light transformed into a linear one which is inputtted into the surface to be irradiated. Also, there is disposed one homogenizer for controlling an irradiation energy density in a width direction of the linear laser light. According to this, the uniformity of laser annealing can be improved by the minimum number of homogenizers.

Abstract: A brighter active matrix type liquid crystal electro-optical device with a higher contrast, yet having a wider visual angle is realized, said liquid crystal electro-optical device comprises a liquid crystal layer and means for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer in the direction parallel to the substrate, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises a liquid crystal material dispersed in a polymer material. Also a liquid crystal electro-optical device comprising a liquid crystal layer disposed on a substrate is included, wherein the transmission mode or the dispersion mode of an incident light is selected by an electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer in the direction parallel to the liquid crystal layer.

Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor device having a new structure which allows a high reliability and a high field effect mobility to be realized in the same time. In an insulated gate transistor having an SOI structure utilizing a mono-crystal semiconductor thin film on an insulating layer, pinning regions are formed at edge portions of a channel forming region. The pinning regions suppress a depletion layer from spreading from the drain side and prevent a short-channel effect. In the same time, they also function as a path for drawing out minority carriers generated by impact ionization to the outside and prevent a substrate floating effect from occurring.

Abstract: In an active matrix display device, a circuit including at least five thin film transistors (TFTs) which are provided with an approximately M-shaped semiconductor region for a single pixel electrode and gate lines and a capacitances line which cross the M-shaped semiconductor region, is used as a switching element. Each of the TFT have offset regions and lightly doped drain (LDD) regions. Then, by supplying a selection signal to the gate lines, the TFTs are operated, thereby writing data to the pixel, while a suitable voltage is supplied to the capacitance line, a channel is formed thereunder and it becomes a capacitor. Thus the amount of discharge from the pixel electrode is reduced by the capacitor.

Abstract: To suppress the occurrence of a failure caused by static electricity in the manufacturing process of an active matrix type display device in which an active matrix circuit and peripheral drive circuits are integrated on a glass substrate, a protective capacitor to be connected to a short ring is formed using a semiconductor layer made from the. same material as the active layer of a thin film transistor present under the short ring. This protective capacitor has a function to absorb an electric pulse generated in the plasma using process. Discharge patterns are provided to prevent an electric pulse from affecting each circuit.