Patents by Inventor Masakiyo Matsumura

Masakiyo Matsumura 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: 7499147
    Abstract: A generation method of a light intensity distribution uses a first light modulation element and a second light modulation element which are arranged to be apart from each other by a distance D and face each other in parallel to optically modulate a light beam which enters the light modulation elements, thereby generating a light intensity distribution on a target surface. The first light modulation element has a pattern formed by repeating a basic unit having a pitch P. The distance D is set to a distance with which the light intensity distribution generated on the predetermined surface is not changed even if a relative position of the first light modulation element and the second light modulation element is shifted in a plane direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Taniguchi, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Masayuki Jyumonji, Noritaka Akita, Masakiyo Matsumura
  • Publication number: 20090051843
    Abstract: A method of producing a thin film transistor comprises irradiating a resist on a glass base plate with a ray from a light source through a mask and, thereafter, developing the resist to form contact holes, using an i-ray as the ray.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2008
    Publication date: February 26, 2009
    Inventors: Hirotaka Yamaguchi, Masakiyo Matsumura, Yukio Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 7485505
    Abstract: The present invention provides a thin-film transistor offering a higher electron (or hole) mobility, a method for manufacturing the thin-film transistor, and a display using the thin-film transistor. The present invention provides a thin-film transistor having a source region, a channel region, and a drain region in a semiconductor thin film with a crystal grown in a horizontal direction, the thin-film transistor having a gate insulating film and a gate electrode over the channel region, wherein a drain edge of the drain region which is adjacent to the channel region is formed in the vicinity of a crystal growth end position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2009
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Nakazaki, Genshiro Kawachi, Terunori Warabisako, Masakiyo Matsumura
  • Publication number: 20090004763
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a laser crystallization method and crystallization apparatus using a high-accuracy substrate height control mechanism. There is provided a laser crystallization method includes obtaining a first pulse laser beam having an inverse-peak-pattern light intensity distribution formed by a phase shifter, and irradiating a thin film disposed on a substrate with the first pulse laser beam, thereby melting and crystallizing the thin film, the method includes selecting a desired one of reflected light components of a second laser beam by using a polarizing element disposed on an optical path of the second laser beam when illuminating, with the second laser beam, an first pulse laser beam irradiation position of the thin film, correcting a height of the substrate to a predetermined height by detecting the selected reflected light component, and irradiating the first pulse laser beam to the thin film having the corrected height.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2008
    Publication date: January 1, 2009
    Inventors: Takashi Ono, Masakiyo Matsumura, Kazurumi Azuma, Tomoya Kato
  • Patent number: 7459026
    Abstract: A light irradiation apparatus includes a light modulation element which has a phase step having a phase difference substantially different from 180°, an illumination optical system which illuminates the light modulation element, and an image formation optical system which forms, on an irradiation surface, a light intensity distribution based on a light beam phase-modulated by the light modulation element. The illumination optical system illuminates the light modulation element with an illumination light beam inclined in a direction normal to a step line of the phase step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Taniguchi, Masakiyo Matsumura
  • Publication number: 20080289573
    Abstract: There are provided a crystallization method which can design laser beam having a light intensity and a distribution optimized on an incident surface of a substrate, form a desired crystallized structure while suppressing generation of any other undesirable structure area and satisfy a demand for low-temperature processing, a crystallization apparatus, a thin film transistor and a display apparatus. When crystallizing a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film by irradiating laser beam thereto, irradiation light beam to the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film have a light intensity with a light intensity distribution which cyclically repeats a monotonous increase and a monotonous decrease and a light intensity which melts the non-single-crystal semiconductor. Further, at least a silicon oxide film is provided on a laser beam incident surface of the non-single-crystal semiconductor film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2008
    Publication date: November 27, 2008
    Inventors: Masayuki JYUMONJI, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Masakiyo Matsumura, Masato Hiramatsu, Yoshinobu Kimura, Yukio Taniguchi, Tomoya Kato
  • Patent number: 7456038
    Abstract: A method of producing a thin film transistor comprises irradiating a resist on a glass base plate with a ray from a light source through a mask and, thereafter, developing the resist to form contact holes, using an i-ray as the ray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Ekisho Sentan Gijutsu Kaihatsu Center
    Inventors: Hirotaka Yamaguchi, Masakiyo Matsumura, Yukio Taniguchi
  • Publication number: 20080230725
    Abstract: A crystallization apparatus includes a light modulation element, and an image forming optical system that forms a light intensity distribution set based on light transmitted through the light modulation element on an irradiation surface. The crystallization apparatus irradiates a non-single crystal semiconductor film with light having the light intensity distribution to generate a crystallized semiconductor film. A curvature radius of at least one isointensity line of a light intensity substantially varies along the isointensity line in the light intensity distribution on the irradiation surface, and a curvature radius of at least a part of the isointensity line has a minimum value of 0.3 ?m or below.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Publication date: September 25, 2008
    Inventors: Yukio TANIGUCHI, Masakiyo Matsumura, Kazufumi Azuma, Tomoya Kato, Takahiko Endo
  • Patent number: 7413608
    Abstract: A crystallization apparatus includes an illumination system which applies illumination light for crystallization to a non-single-crystal semiconductor film, and a phase shifter which includes first and second regions disposed to form a straight boundary and transmitting the illumination light from the illumination system by a first phase retardation therebetween, and phase-modulates the illumination light to provide a light intensity distribution having an inverse peak pattern that light intensity falls in a zone of the non-single-crystal semiconductor film containing an axis corresponding to the boundary. The phase shifter further includes a small region which extends into at least one of the first and second regions from the boundary and transmits the illumination light by a second phase retardation with respect to the at least one of the first and second regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Taniguchi, Masakiyo Matsumura, Hirotaka Yamaguchi, Mikihiko Nishitani, Susumu Tsujikawa, Yoshinobu Kimura, Masayuki Jyumonji
  • Patent number: 7410848
    Abstract: There are provided a crystallization method which can design laser beam having a light intensity and a distribution optimized on an incident surface of a substrate, form a desired crystallized structure while suppressing generation of any other undesirable structure area and satisfy a demand for low-temperature processing, a crystallization apparatus, a thin film transistor and a display apparatus. When crystallizing a non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film by irradiating laser beam thereto, irradiation light beam to the non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film have a light intensity with a light intensity distribution which cyclically repeats a monotonous increase and a monotonous decrease and a light intensity which melts the non-single-crystal semiconductor. Further, at least a silicon oxide film is provided on a laser beam incident surface of the non-single-crystal semiconductor film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Jyumonji, Hiroyuki Ogawa, Masakiyo Matsumura, Masato Hiramatsu, Yoshinobu Kimura, Yukio Taniguchi, Tomoya Kato
  • Patent number: 7407873
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes irradiating a region to be crystallized of a non-monocrystalline semiconductor film with laser beam modulated by an optical modulator to have light intensity distribution having a minimum light intensity line or minimum light intensity spot to crystallize the region, and heating the crystallized region by irradiating light from a flash lamp onto the crystallized region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Nakamura, Terunori Warabisako, Masakiyo Matsumura
  • Publication number: 20080112057
    Abstract: An optical device comprises a first cylindrical lens array in which a plurality of first lens segments each having a first radius of curvature and a first width so as to divide laser light into a plurality of light components are arranged, and a plurality of second lens segments each having a second radius of curvature and a second width, and provided in at least one position of the first cylindrical lens array so as to be arranged between adjacent first lens segments.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2007
    Publication date: May 15, 2008
    Inventors: Takashi Ono, Kazufumi Azuma, Masakiyo Matsumura
  • Patent number: 7361221
    Abstract: A light irradiation apparatus includes a light modulation element which has a phase modulation area having at least one basic pattern for modulating a light beam, an illumination system which illuminates the phase modulation area of the light modulation element with a light beam, and an image formation optical system which causes a light beam on an irradiation target surface a light intensity distribution having an inverse-peak-shaped pattern formed based on the light beam phase-modulated by the phase modulation element to fall on an irradiation target object. Dimensions of the basic pattern are not greater than a point spread function range of the image formation optical system converted in terms of the light modulation element. The phase modulation area is configured in such a manner that a phase distribution in a light complex amplitude distribution on the irradiation target surface becomes a saw-tooth-like distribution along a line segment in a lateral direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masakiyo Matsumura, Yukio Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 7352002
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a thin-film semiconductor device substrate includes a step of forming a non-single crystalline semiconductor thin film on a base layer, and an annealing step of irradiating the non-single crystalline semiconductor thin film with an energy beam to enhance crystallinity of a non-single crystalline semiconductor constituting the non-single crystalline semiconductor thin film. The annealing step includes simultaneously irradiating the non-single crystalline semiconductor thin film with a plurality of energy beams to form a plurality of unit regions each including at least one irradiated region irradiated with the energy beam and at least one non-irradiated region that is not irradiated with the energy beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Kimura, Masakiyo Matsumura, Yoshitaka Yamamoto, Mikihiko Nishitani, Masato Hiramatsu, Masayuki Jyumonji, Fumiki Nakano
  • Patent number: 7347897
    Abstract: A crystallization apparatus of the present invention irradiates a non-single-crystal semiconductor film with a luminous flux having a predetermined light intensity distribution to crystallize the film, and comprises a phase modulation device comprising a plurality of unit areas which are arranged in a certain period and which mutually have substantially the same pattern, and an optical image forming system disposed between the phase modulation device and the non-single-crystal semiconductor film. The unit area of the phase modulation device has a reference face having a certain phase, a first area disposed in the vicinity of a center of each unit area and having a first phase difference with respect to the reference face, and a second area disposed in the vicinity of the first area and having substantially the same phase difference as that of the first phase difference with respect to the reference face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoya Kato, Masakiyo Matsumura, Yukio Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 7335910
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a thin film transistor having a high mobility and having fewer fluctuations in the mobility or threshold voltage characteristics. A non-single-crystal semiconductor thin film having a thickness of less than 50 nm and disposed on an insulating substrate is irradiated with laser light having an inverse-peak-patterned light intensity distribution to grow crystals unidirectionally in a lateral direction. Thus, band-like crystal grains having a dimension in a crystal growth direction, which is longer than a width, are arranged adjacent to each other in a width direction to form a crystal grain array. A source region and a drain region of a TFT are formed so that a current flows in the crystal growth direction in an area including a plurality of crystal grains of this crystal grain array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2008
    Assignee: Advanced LCD Technologies Development Center Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoya Kato, Masakiyo Matsumura, Yoshiaki Nakazaki
  • Patent number: 7335261
    Abstract: Disclosed are apparatus for forming a semiconductor film having an excellent crystallinity from a non-single crystal semiconducting layer formed on a base layer made of an insulating material. The apparatus includes a light source, a homogenizer for homogenizing an intensity distribution of the emitted light, an amplitude-modulation means for performing the amplitude-modulation such that the amplitude of the light, of which the intensity distribution is homogenized, is increased in the direction of the relative motion of the light to the base layer, an optional light projection optical system for projecting the amplitude-modulated light onto the surface of the non-single crystal semiconductor such that a predetermined irradiation energy can be obtained, a phase shifter for providing a low temperature point in the surface irradiated by the light, and a substrate stage to move the light relative to the substrate thereby enabling scanning in the X and Y axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Ekisho Sentan Gijutsu Kaihatsu Center
    Inventors: Masakiyo Matsumura, Mikihiko Nishitani, Yoshinobu Kimura, Masayuki Jyumonji, Yukio Taniguchi, Masato Hiramatsu, Fumiki Nakano
  • Publication number: 20080044975
    Abstract: The present invention provides a thin-film transistor offering a higher electron (or hole) mobility, a method for manufacturing the thin-film transistor, and a display using the thin-film transistor. The present invention provides a thin-film transistor having a source region, a channel region, and a drain region in a semiconductor thin film with a crystal grown in a horizontal direction, the thin-film transistor having a gate insulating film and a gate electrode over the channel region, wherein a drain edge of the drain region which is adjacent to the channel region is formed in the vicinity of a crystal growth end position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2007
    Publication date: February 21, 2008
    Inventors: Yoshiaki NAKAZAKI, Genshiro Kawachi, Terunori Warabisako, Masakiyo Matsumura
  • Publication number: 20080032244
    Abstract: A crystallization method which generates a crystallized semiconductor film by irradiating at least one of a polycrystal semiconductor film and an amorphous semiconductor film with light beams having a light intensity distribution with an inverse peak pattern that a light intensity is increased toward the periphery from an inverse peak at which the light intensity is minimum, wherein a light intensity value a (standardized value) in the inverse peak when a maximum value of the light intensity in the light intensity distribution with the inverse peak pattern is standardized as 1 is set to 0.2?value ??0.8.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2007
    Publication date: February 7, 2008
    Applicant: Advanced LCD Technologies Dev. Ctr. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio TANIGUCHI, Masakiyo Matsumura
  • Publication number: 20080019002
    Abstract: A crystallization apparatus includes an illumination system which applies illumination light for crystallization to a non-single-crystal semiconductor film, and a phase shifter which includes first and second regions disposed to form a straight boundary and transmitting the illumination light from the illumination system by a first phase retardation therebetween, and phase-modulates the illumination light to provide a light intensity distribution having an inverse peak pattern that light intensity falls in a zone of the non-single-crystal semiconductor film containing an axis corresponding to the boundary. The phase shifter further includes a small region which extends into at least one of the first and second regions from the boundary and transmits the illumination light by a second phase retardation with respect to the at least one of the first and second regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2007
    Publication date: January 24, 2008
    Applicant: Advanced LCD Technologies Dev. Ctr. Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Yukio TANIGUCHI, Masakiyo Matsumura, Hirotaka Yamaguchi, Mikihiko Nishitani, Susumu Tsujikawa, Yoshinobu Kimura, Masayuki Jyumonji