Patents by Inventor Masahiko Suzuki

Masahiko Suzuki 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).

  • Patent number: 11557679
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate has pixel regions, and includes a substrate, pixel TFTs disposed to respectively correspond to the pixel regions, and pixel electrodes electrically connected to the pixel TFTs. The pixel TFTs are each a top gate structure TFT that has an oxide semiconductor layer, a gate insulating layer on the oxide semiconductor layer, and a gate electrode opposing the oxide semiconductor layer with the gate insulating layer therebetween. The gate insulating layer is formed of silicon oxide and includes a lower layer contacting the oxide semiconductor layer, and an upper layer on the lower layer. The lower layer H/N ratio of hydrogen atoms to nitrogen atoms in the lower layer is 1.5 to 5.0. The upper layer H/N ratio of hydrogen atoms to nitrogen atoms in the upper layer is 0.9 to 2.0. The lower layer H/N ratio is larger than the upper layer H/N ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Tohru Daitoh, Masahiko Suzuki, Setsuji Nishimiya, Kengo Hara, Hitoshi Takahata
  • Patent number: 11551629
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present invention, an active matrix substrate (100) includes a display region (DR) defined by a plurality of pixel regions (P) arranged in a matrix and a peripheral region (FR) located around the display region. The active matrix substrate includes a substrate (1), a first TFT (10), and a second TFT (20). The first TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the peripheral region. The second TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the display region. The first TFT includes a crystalline silicon semiconductor layer (11), which is an active layer. The second TFT includes an oxide semiconductor layer (21), which is an active layer. The first TFT and the second TFT each have a top-gate structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Hideki Kitagawa, Hajime Imai, Toshikatsu Itoh, Masahiko Suzuki, Teruyuki Ueda, Kengo Hara, Setsuji Nishimiya, Tohru Daitoh
  • Publication number: 20220406942
    Abstract: Each first thin film transistor of a semiconductor device includes: a lower electrode; a first oxide semiconductor layer including a channel region and first and second contact regions; a gate electrode disposed on the channel region with a gate insulating layer interposed therebetween; and a source electrode and a drain electrode connected to the first contact region and the second contact region, respectively. When viewed from a normal direction of the substrate, at least a part of the channel region overlaps the lower electrode, and at least one of the first and second contact regions is located outside the lower electrode. The channel region has a layered structure including a lower layer, an upper layer located between the lower layer and the gate insulating layer, and a high mobility layer disposed between the lower layer and the upper layer and having mobility higher than mobility of the lower layer and the upper layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2022
    Publication date: December 22, 2022
    Inventors: Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Tohru DAITOH, Masahiko SUZUKI, Setsuji NISHIMIYA, Kengo HARA, Hitoshi TAKAHATA
  • Patent number: 11502115
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate includes a substrate, a first gate bus line, a second gate bus line, a third gate bus line, a first source bus line, a second source bus line, a first pixel region, a second pixel region, and a first source contact portion. When viewed from a normal direction of the substrate, a first opening portion is located between the second gate bus line and the third gate bus line, and a first distance D1 in a column direction between the second gate bus line and the first opening portion and a second distance D2 in the column direction between the third gate bus line and the first opening portion are both ? or more of a second interval Dy2 in the column direction between the second gate bus line and the third gate bus line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiko Suzuki, Tetsuo Kikuchi, Setsuji Nishimiya, Kengo Hara, Hitoshi Takahata, Tohru Daitoh
  • Patent number: 11486353
    Abstract: A vertical shaft wind turbine that is superior in a rotational startability, even at a low wind speed, and is suited to a wind power generator that has high rotational torque. Each blade is an upper-and-lower-ends fixed type vertically long blade which is suitable for use as a wind turbine or a water turbine. The string length and thickness of an upper-and-lower-ends fixed type vertically long blade (8) that is fixed upper and lower ends to a vertical main shaft (7) gradually decrease from a main part (8) thereof to tips of the upper and lower inwardly curved inclined parts (8B, 8B), and a cross section of the main part (8A) is a lift type. A thickness of the cross-sectional shape is continuously and gradually thins from the main part (8) to the tips of the inwardly curved inclined parts (8B, 8B).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: GLOBAL ENERGY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Masahiko Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20220246105
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present invention, an active matrix substrate (100) includes a display region (DR) defined by a plurality of pixel regions (P) arranged in a matrix and a peripheral region (FR) located around the display region. The active matrix substrate includes a substrate (1), a first TFT (10), and a second TFT (20). The first TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the peripheral region. The second TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the display region. The first TFT includes a crystalline silicon semiconductor layer (11), which is an active layer. The second TFT includes an oxide semiconductor layer (21), which is an active layer. The first TFT and the second TFT each have a top-gate structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2022
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventors: Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Hideki KITAGAWA, Hajime IMAI, Toshikatsu ITOH, Masahiko SUZUKI, Teruyuki UEDA, Kengo HARA, Setsuji NISHIMIYA, Tohru DAITOH
  • Patent number: 11393849
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of oxide semiconductor TFTs, a plurality of gate bus lines, a plurality of source bus lines, and at least one trunk wiring provided in a non-display region and transmitting a signal, and a plurality of other wirings, each of which is disposed so as to at least partially overlap the trunk wirings. The active matrix substrate includes a first metal layer, a second metal layer disposed above the first metal layer, and a third metal layer disposed above the second metal layer on the substrate. One of the first, second, and third metal layers includes a source bus line, and other layer includes a gate bus line. The trunk wiring is formed in two metal layer of the first, second and third metal layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Tohru Daitoh, Hajime Imai, Masahiko Suzuki, Setsuji Nishimiya, Kengo Hara, Masamitsu Yamanaka, Hitoshi Takahata
  • Publication number: 20220208793
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate includes a first TFT having an oxide semiconductor layer formed from a first oxide semiconductor film and a second TFT having an oxide semiconductor layer formed from a second oxide semiconductor film. The oxide semiconductor layer of each TFT includes a high-resistance region including a channel region and offset regions and low-resistance regions including a source contact region, a drain contact region, and interposed regions. The first TFT has a gate insulating layer including a first insulating film and a second insulating film. The second TFT has a gate insulating layer including the second insulating film but not including the first insulating film. A total length L1 of the offset regions of the first TFT in a channel length direction is greater than a total length L2 of the offset regions of the second TFT in the channel length direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventors: Hitoshi TAKAHATA, Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Kengo HARA, Setsuji NISHIMIYA, Masahiko SUZUKI, Tohru DAITOH
  • Publication number: 20220189999
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate is provided with a plurality of oxide semiconductor TFTs including a plurality of first TFTs. An oxide semiconductor layer of each oxide semiconductor TFT includes a channel region, a source contact region, and a drain contact region. In a view from a normal direction of the substrate, the channel region is a region located between the source contact region and the drain contact region and overlapping a gate electrode, and the channel region includes a first end portion and a second end portion that oppose each other and extend in a first direction from the source contact region side toward the drain contact region side, a source side end portion that is located on the source contact region side of the first and second end portions and extends in a second direction that intersects the first direction, and a drain side end portion that is located on the drain contact region side of the first and second end portions and extends in the second direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Publication date: June 16, 2022
    Inventors: Kengo HARA, Tohru DAITOH, Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Masahiko SUZUKI, Setsuji NISHIMIYA, Hitoshi TAKAHATA
  • Publication number: 20220181356
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate includes a plurality of oxide semiconductor TFTs, and a plurality of wiring line connection sections, each of the plurality of wiring line connection sections includes a first connection electrode, an interlayer insulating layer extending over the first connection electrode, a wiring line contact hole formed in an insulating layer including the interlayer insulating layer, the wiring line contact hole exposing a part of a metal oxide layer of a first connection electrode, and a second connection electrode, and the second connection electrode is connected to a part of the metal oxide layer of the first connection electrode in the wiring line contact hole.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: June 9, 2022
    Inventors: MASAHIKO SUZUKI, TETSUO KIKUCHI, SETSUJI NISHIMIYA, KENGO HARA, HITOSHI TAKAHATA, TOHRU DAITOH
  • Publication number: 20220157855
    Abstract: The oxide semiconductor layer is electrically connected to a source electrode or the source bus line within the source opening formed in the lower insulating layer, each wiring line connection section includes a lower conductive portion formed using the first conductive film, the lower insulating layer extending over the lower conductive portion, an oxide connection layer formed using an oxide film the same as the oxide semiconductor layer and electrically connected to the lower conductive portion within the lower opening formed in the lower insulating layer, an insulating layer covering the oxide connection layer, and an upper conductive portion electrically connected to the oxide connection layer within the upper opening formed in the insulating layer, wherein the oxide connection layer includes a region lower in a specific resistance than the channel region of the oxide semiconductor layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2022
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Inventors: Hajime IMAI, Tohru DAITOH, Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Masamitsu YAMANAKA, Yoshihito HARA, Tatsuya KAWASAKI, Masahiko SUZUKI, Setsuji NISHIMIYA
  • Publication number: 20220134386
    Abstract: A cleaning member includes a nonwoven structure whose shape is retained by entanglement between single fibers having a median fiber diameter of from 100 to 2000 nm. The nonwoven structure has an apparent density of from 0.05 to 0.60 g/cm3. Preferably, the cleaning member may further include a support, and the support and the nonwoven structure may be arranged in contact with one another. Preferably, the single fiber may be an electrospun fiber. A method for manufacturing a cleaning member includes: a step of performing spinning by electrospinning, and thereby forming a deposit of a single fiber; and a step of pressing the deposit, and thereby forming a nonwoven structure having an apparent density of from 0.05 to 0.60 g/cm3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Publication date: May 5, 2022
    Applicant: Kao Corporation
    Inventors: Takehiko TOJO, Takehiko UEMATSU, Masahiko SUZUKI
  • Patent number: 11322105
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present invention, an active matrix substrate (100) includes a display region (DR) defined by a plurality of pixel regions (P) arranged in a matrix and a peripheral region (FR) located around the display region. The active matrix substrate includes a substrate (1), a first TFT (10), and a second TFT (20). The first TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the peripheral region. The second TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the display region. The first TFT includes a crystalline silicon semiconductor layer (11), which is an active layer. The second TFT includes an oxide semiconductor layer (21), which is an active layer. The first TFT and the second TFT each have a top-gate structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Hideki Kitagawa, Hajime Imai, Toshikatsu Itoh, Masahiko Suzuki, Teruyuki Ueda, Kengo Hara, Setsuji Nishimiya, Tohru Daitoh
  • Patent number: 11302718
    Abstract: Each of pixel regions of an active matrix substrate (1002) includes: a lower insulating layer (5); an oxide semiconductor layer (7) that is arranged on the lower insulating layer and includes an active region (7a) of an oxide semiconductor TFT; an upper insulating layer (9) that is arranged on a portion of the oxide semiconductor layer so as not to be in contact with the lower insulating layer; an upper gate layer (10) that is arranged on the upper insulating layer and includes an upper gate electrode (10a) and one of a plurality of gate bus lines (GL); and a source electrode and a drain electrode, wherein: the oxide semiconductor layer 7 further includes an extension region (7e) that extends from the active region (7a) in a direction x different from a channel length direction y of the oxide semiconductor TFT as seen from a normal direction to the substrate; and the extension region (7e) is arranged on the substrate side of one of the plurality of gate bus lines (GL) with an upper insulating layer (9) interp
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kengo Hara, Tohru Daitoh, Hajime Imai, Tetsuo Kikuchi, Hideki Kitagawa, Teruyuki Ueda, Masahiko Suzuki, Setsuji Nishimiya, Toshikatsu Itoh
  • Patent number: 11296126
    Abstract: The oxide semiconductor layer is electrically connected to a source electrode or the source bus line within the source opening formed in the lower insulating layer, each wiring line connection section includes a lower conductive portion formed using the first conductive film, the lower insulating layer extending over the lower conductive portion, an oxide connection layer formed using an oxide film the same as the oxide semiconductor layer and electrically connected to the lower conductive portion within the lower opening formed in the lower insulating layer, an insulating layer covering the oxide connection layer, and an upper conductive portion electrically connected to the oxide connection layer within the upper opening formed in the insulating layer, wherein the oxide connection layer includes a region lower in a specific resistance than the channel region of the oxide semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hajime Imai, Tohru Daitoh, Tetsuo Kikuchi, Masamitsu Yamanaka, Yoshihito Hara, Tatsuya Kawasaki, Masahiko Suzuki, Setsuji Nishimiya
  • Publication number: 20220077318
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a thin film transistor, wherein: a semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor has a layered structure including a lower oxide semiconductor layer including In, Ga, Zn and Sn and an upper oxide semiconductor layer arranged on the lower oxide semiconductor layer and including In, Ga and Zn; a thickness of the lower oxide semiconductor layer is 20 nm or less; an atomic ratio of Sn with respect to all metal elements of the lower oxide semiconductor layer is 5% or more; the upper oxide semiconductor layer includes no Sn, or an atomic ratio of Sn with respect to all metal elements of the upper oxide semiconductor layer is smaller than an atomic ratio of Sn with respect to all metal elements of the lower oxide semiconductor layer; and a first angle ?1 between a side surface and a lower surface of the lower oxide semiconductor layer is smaller than a second angle ?2 between a side surface and a lower surface of the upper oxide semiconductor layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2021
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Inventors: Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Masahiko SUZUKI, Setsuji NISHIMIYA, Teruyuki UEDA, Masamitsu YAMANAKA, Tohru DAITOH, Hajime IMAI, Kengo HARA
  • Publication number: 20220005839
    Abstract: An active matrix substrate includes a first TFT and a second TFT, each of TFTs includes an oxide semiconductor layer and a gate electrode arranged on the oxide semiconductor layer with a gate insulating layer therebetween, in which in the first TFT, in the oxide semiconductor layer, in at least a part of a first region covered with the gate electrode with the gate insulating layer interposed therebetween, a layered structure including a high mobility oxide semiconductor film having a relatively high mobility and a low mobility oxide semiconductor film placed on the high mobility oxide semiconductor film and having a lower mobility than the high mobility oxide semiconductor film is provided, and in the second TFT, in a first region of the oxide semiconductor layer, throughout, of the high mobility oxide semiconductor film and the low mobility oxide semiconductor film, one oxide semiconductor film is provided, and the other oxide semiconductor film is not provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2021
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Inventors: Tohru DAITOH, Masahiko SUZUKI, Setsuji NISHIMIYA, Kengo HARA, Hitoshi TAKAHATA, Tetsuo KIKUCHI
  • Patent number: 11205729
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a thin film transistor, wherein: a semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor has a layered structure including a lower oxide semiconductor layer including In, Ga, Zn and Sn and an upper oxide semiconductor layer arranged on the lower oxide semiconductor layer and including In, Ga and Zn; a thickness of the lower oxide semiconductor layer is 20 nm or less; an atomic ratio of Sn with respect to all metal elements of the lower oxide semiconductor layer is 5% or more; the upper oxide semiconductor layer includes no Sn, or an atomic ratio of Sn with respect to all metal elements of the upper oxide semiconductor layer is smaller than an atomic ratio of Sn with respect to all metal elements of the lower oxide semiconductor layer; and a first angle ?1 between a side surface and a lower surface of the lower oxide semiconductor layer is smaller than a second angle ?2 between a side surface and a lower surface of the upper oxide semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo Kikuchi, Masahiko Suzuki, Setsuji Nishimiya, Teruyuki Ueda, Masamitsu Yamanaka, Tohru Daitoh, Hajime Imai, Kengo Hara
  • Publication number: 20210390920
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present invention, an active matrix substrate (100) includes a display region (DR) defined by a plurality of pixel regions (P) arranged in a matrix and a peripheral region (FR) located around the display region. The active matrix substrate includes a substrate (1), a first TFT (10), and a second TFT (20). The first TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the peripheral region. The second TFT is supported by the substrate and disposed in the display region. The first TFT includes a crystalline silicon semiconductor layer (11), which is an active layer. The second TFT includes an oxide semiconductor layer (21), which is an active layer. The first TFT and the second TFT each have a top-gate structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2021
    Publication date: December 16, 2021
    Inventors: Tetsuo KIKUCHI, Hideki KITAGAWA, Hajime IMAI, Toshikatsu ITOH, Masahiko SUZUKI, Teruyuki UEDA, Kengo HARA, Setsuji NISHIMIYA, Tohru DAITOH
  • Patent number: 11189645
    Abstract: There is provided a high-definition active matrix substrate while suppressing an occurrence of pixel defects. The active matrix substrate includes a first semiconductor film corresponding to one of two sub-pixels adjacent to each other in a row direction, a second semiconductor film corresponding to the other of two sub-pixels, a transistor using part of the first semiconductor film as a channel in the row direction, and a pixel electrode connected to a drain electrode of the transistor through a contact hole. In a plan view, a distance (dc) in the row direction from a drain electrode-side edge of the channel to a bottom surface of the contact hole is 0.15 or more times a sub-pixel pitch (dp) in the row direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideki Kitagawa, Hajime Imai, Toshikatsu Itoh, Tetsuo Kikuchi, Masahiko Suzuki, Teruyuki Ueda, Kengo Hara, Setsuji Nishimiya, Tohru Daitoh