Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes a display part divided into blocks, a gate driver which sequentially drives scan lines arranged in the display part one by one, and a data driver which supplies, via common signal lines, display signals to pixels connected to one of the scan lines driven by the gate driver and located in one of the blocks which are sequentially selected in accordance with a block control signal.

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: To provide a technology for fabricating a high image quality liquid crystal display device, a set range of a cell gap for holding a liquid crystal layer is limited in accordance with a distance of a pixel pitch in which specifically, the cell gap is set to be a distance of one tenth of the pixel pitch, whereby the high image quality liquid crystal display device with no occurrence of image display failure caused by disturbances of an electric field such as disclination, can be realized.

Abstract: A metal electrode also serving as a black matrix is so formed as to cover the periphery of an ITO pixel electrode. A region where the pixel electrode and the metal electrode coextend also serves as an auxiliary capacitor. Since the auxiliary capacitor can be formed by using a thin insulating film, it can have a large capacitance. By virtue of the structure in which the black matrix also serves as the auxiliary capacitor, it is not necessary to provide an electrode dedicated to the auxiliary capacitor, thereby preventing reduction in aperture ratio. Further, the black matrix can completely shield a source line and a gate line from light.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display apparatus containing an image sensor, which comprises a liquid crystal display part comprising an active matrix circuit, a peripheral driver circuit for driving the active matrix circuit, and a sensor part, integrated on one substrate, wherein the sensor part is sealed and protected with a sealing part and a counter substrate.

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.

Abstract: It is an object to obtain a crystalline silicon film having preferable characteristics for a thin film transistor. A crystalline silicon film having improved crystallinity is obtained by the following steps: forming a silicon nitride film substantially in contact with an amorphous silicon film on glass substrate; introducing a catalyst element such as nickel; performing an annealing treatment at a temperature of 500 to 600° C. for crystallization; and further irradiating it with a laser light, thereby a crystalline silicon film having improved crystallinity can be obtained. By using the crystalline silicon film thus obtained, a semiconductor device such as a TFT having improved characteristic can be obtained.

Abstract: There is provided a method by which lightly doped drain (LDD) regions can be formed easily and at good yields in source/drain regions in thin film transistors possessing gate electrodes covered with an oxide covering. A lightly doped drain (LDD) region is formed by introducing an impurity into an island-shaped silicon film in a self-aligning manner, with a gate electrode serving as a mask. First, low-concentration impurity regions are formed in the island-shaped silicon film by using rotation-tilt ion implantation to effect ion doping from an oblique direction relative to the substrate. Low-concentration impurity regions are also formed below the gate electrode at this time. After that, an impurity at a high concentration is introduced normally to the substrate, so forming high-concentration impurity regions. In the above process, a low-concentration impurity region remains below the gate electrode and constitutes a lightly doped drain region.

Abstract: A process for laser processing an article, which comprises: heating the intended article to be doped with an impurity to a temperature not higher than the melting point thereof, said article being made from a material selected from a semiconductor, a metal, an insulator, and a combination thereof; and irradiating a laser beam to the article in a reactive gas atmosphere containing said impurity, thereby allowing the impurity to physically or chemically diffuse into, combine with, or intrude into said article.

Abstract: A display device includes a pair of substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal with a thin film transistor formed over one of the pair of substrates and a sealing material formed between the pair of substrates for sealing the liquid crystal. The thin film transistor includes a semiconductor layer and a gate electrode between which is interposed a gate insulating film, an inorganic insulating film formed over at least the gate insulating film, an orientation film formed over the inorganic insulating film. The sealing material has a first region in contact with the orientation film and a second region in contact with the inorganic insulating film.

Abstract: An insulated gate semiconductor device comprising an insulator substrate having provided thereon a source and a drain region; a channel region being incorporated between said source and said drain regions, said channel region comprising a polycrystalline, a single crystal, or a semi-amorphous semiconductor material; and a region provided under said channel region, said region comprising an amorphous material containing the same material as that of the channel region as the principal component, or said region comprising a material having a band gap larger than said channel region. A process for fabricating the device is also disclosed.

Abstract: A structure for reducing the OFF current of an active matrix display. In the active matrix display, plural TFTs are connected in series with each one pixel electrode. Of these TFTs connected in series, at least one TFT excluding the TFTs located at opposite ends is maintained in conduction. Alternatively, at least one capacitor is connected between the junction of the drain and source of each TFT connected in series and an AC grounded point. Thus, the amount of electric charge released from auxiliary capacitors during cutoff of the TFTs is reduced.

Abstract: A display device includes a pair of substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal with a thin film transistor formed over one of the pair of substrates and a sealing material formed between the pair of substrates for sealing the liquid crystal. The thin film transistor includes a semiconductor layer and a gate electrode between which is interposed a gate insulating film, an inorganic insulating film formed over at least the gate insulating film, an orientation film formed over the inorganic insulating film. The sealing material has a first region in contact with the orientation film and a second region in contact with the inorganic insulating film.

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 there between. 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: To provide a technology for fabricating a high image quality liquid crystal display device, a set range of a cell gap for holding a liquid crystal layer is limited in accordance with a distance of a pixel pitch in which specifically, the cell gap is set to be a distance of one tenth of the pixel pitch, whereby the high image quality liquid crystal display device with no occurrence of image display failure caused by disturbances of an electric field such as disclination, can be realized.

Abstract: A metal electrode also serving as a black matrix is so formed as to cover the periphery of an IT0 pixel electrode. A region where the pixel electrode and the metal electrode coextend also serves as an auxiliary capacitor. Since the auxiliary capacitor can be formed by using a thin insulating film, it can have a large capacitance. By virtue of the structure in which the black matrix also serves as the auxiliary capacitor, it is not necessary to provide an electrode dedicated to the auxiliary capacitor, thereby preventing reduction in aperture ratio. Further, the black matrix can completely shield a source line and a gate line from light.

Abstract: There is provided a method by which lightly doped drain (LDD) regions can be formed easily and at good yields in source/drain regions in thin film transistors possessing gate electrodes covered with an oxide covering. A lightly doped drain (LDD) region is formed by introducing an impurity into an island-shaped silicon film in a self-aligning manner, with a gate electrode serving as a mask. First, low-concentration impurity regions are formed in the island-shaped silicon film by using rotation-tilt ion implantation to effect ion doping from an oblique direction relative to the substrate. Low-concentration impurity regions are also formed below the gate electrode at this time. After that, an impurity at a high concentration is introduced normally to the substrate, so forming high-concentration impurity regions. In the above process, a low-concentration impurity region remains below the gate electrode and constitutes a lightly doped drain region.

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: A process for laser processing an article which comprises: heating the intended article to be doped with an impurity to a temperature not higher than the melting point thereof, said article being made from a material selected from a semiconductor, a metal, an insulator, and a combination thereof; and irradiating a laser beam to the article in a reactive gas atmosphere containing said impurity, thereby allowing the impurity to physically or chemically diffuse into, combine with, or intrude into said article.

Abstract: In a thin film transistor (TFT), a mask is formed on a gate electrode, and a porous anodic oxide is formed in both sides of the gate electrode using a relatively low voltage. A barrier anodic oxide is formed between the gate electrode and the porous anodic oxide and on the gate electrode using a relatively high voltage. A gate insulating film is etched using the barrier anodic oxide as a mask. The porous anodic oxide is selectively etched after etching barrier anodic oxide, to obtain a region of an active layer on which the gate insulating film is formed and the other region of the active layer on which the gate insulating film is not formed. An element including at least one of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon is introduced into the region of the active layer at high concentration in comparison with a concentration of the other region of the active layer. Further, N- or P-type impurity is introduced into the active layer.