Patents by Inventor Miyuki Hosoba
Miyuki Hosoba 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: 9111806Abstract: An object is to control composition and a defect of an oxide semiconductor, another object is to increase a field effect mobility of a thin film transistor and to obtain a sufficient on-off ratio with a reduced off current. A solution is to employ an oxide semiconductor whose composition is represented by InMO3(ZnO)m, where M is one or a plurality of elements selected from Ga, Fe, Ni, Mn, Co, and Al, and m is preferably a non-integer number of greater than 0 and less than 1. The concentration of Zn is lower than the concentrations of In and M. The oxide semiconductor has an amorphous structure. Oxide and nitride layers can be provided to prevent pollution and degradation of the oxide semiconductor.Type: GrantFiled: September 25, 2014Date of Patent: August 18, 2015Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunichi Ito, Toshinari Sasaki, Miyuki Hosoba, Junichiro Sakata
-
Publication number: 20150228667Abstract: An object is to manufacture and provide 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 a semiconductor layer including a channel formation region serves as an oxide semiconductor film, heat treatment for reducing impurities such as moisture (heat treatment for dehydration or dehydrogenation) is performed after an oxide insulating film serving as a protective film is formed in contact with an oxide semiconductor layer. Then, the impurities such as moisture, which exist not only in a source electrode layer, in a drain electrode layer, in a gate insulating layer, and in the oxide semiconductor layer but also at interfaces between the oxide semiconductor film and upper and lower films which are in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer, are reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 21, 2015Publication date: August 13, 2015Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Hiroki OHARA, Junichiro SAKATA, Toshinari SASAKI, Miyuki HOSOBA
-
Patent number: 9093262Abstract: An object is to provide a semiconductor device having stable electric characteristics in which an oxide semiconductor is used. An oxide semiconductor layer is subjected to heat treatment for dehydration or dehydrogenation treatment in a nitrogen gas or an inert gas atmosphere such as a rare gas (e.g., argon or helium) or under reduced pressure and to a cooling step for treatment for supplying oxygen in an atmosphere of oxygen, an atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen, or the air (having a dew point of preferably lower than or equal to ?40° C., still preferably lower than or equal to ?50° C.) atmosphere. The oxide semiconductor layer is thus highly purified, whereby an i-type oxide semiconductor layer is formed. A semiconductor device including a thin film transistor having the oxide semiconductor layer is manufactured.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 2013Date of Patent: July 28, 2015Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Miyuki Hosoba, Junichiro Sakata, Hiroki Ohara, Shunpei Yamazaki
-
Publication number: 20150179675Abstract: An object is to provide a display device with excellent display characteristics, where a pixel circuit and a driver circuit provided over one substrate are formed using transistors which have different structures corresponding to characteristics of the respective circuits. The driver circuit portion includes a driver circuit transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using a metal film, and a channel layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel portion includes a pixel transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using an oxide conductor, and a semiconductor layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel transistor is formed using a light-transmitting material, and thus, a display device with higher aperture ratio can be manufactured.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 5, 2015Publication date: June 25, 2015Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Junichiro SAKATA, Masashi TSUBUKU, Kengo AKIMOTO, Miyuki HOSOBA, Masayuki SAKAKURA, Yoshiaki OIKAWA
-
Patent number: 9024314Abstract: An object is to manufacture and provide 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 a semiconductor layer including a channel formation region serves as an oxide semiconductor film, heat treatment for reducing impurities such as moisture (heat treatment for dehydration or dehydrogenation) is performed after an oxide insulating film serving as a protective film is formed in contact with an oxide semiconductor layer. Then, the impurities such as moisture, which exist not only in a source electrode layer, in a drain electrode layer, in a gate insulating layer, and in the oxide semiconductor layer but also at interfaces between the oxide semiconductor film and upper and lower films which are in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer, are reduced.Type: GrantFiled: August 19, 2013Date of Patent: May 5, 2015Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Hiroki Ohara, Junichiro Sakata, Toshinari Sasaki, Miyuki Hosoba
-
Patent number: 8994889Abstract: An object is to provide a display device with excellent display characteristics, where a pixel circuit and a driver circuit provided over one substrate are formed using transistors which have different structures corresponding to characteristics of the respective circuits. The driver circuit portion includes a driver circuit transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using a metal film, and a channel layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel portion includes a pixel transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using an oxide conductor, and a semiconductor layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel transistor is formed using a light-transmitting material, and thus, a display device with higher aperture ratio can be manufactured.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2014Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Junichiro Sakata, Masashi Tsubuku, Kengo Akimoto, Miyuki Hosoba, Masayuki Sakakura, Yoshiaki Oikawa
-
Patent number: 8980685Abstract: An object is to manufacture a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor at low cost with high productivity in such a manner that a photolithography process is simplified by reducing the number of light-exposure masks In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a channel-etched inverted-staggered thin film transistor, an oxide semiconductor film and a conductive film are etched using a mask layer formed with the use of a multi-tone mask which is a light-exposure mask through which light is transmitted so as to have a plurality of intensities. In etching steps, a first etching step is performed by wet etching in which an etchant is used, and a second etching step is performed by dry etching in which an etching gas is used.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2014Date of Patent: March 17, 2015Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Hideomi Suzawa, Shinya Sasagawa, Taiga Muraoka, Shunichi Ito, Miyuki Hosoba
-
Publication number: 20150072470Abstract: A highly reliable semiconductor device which includes a thin film transistor having stable electric characteristics, and a manufacturing method thereof. In the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device which includes a thin film transistor where a semiconductor layer including a channel formation region is an oxide semiconductor layer, heat treatment which reduces impurities such as moisture to improve the purity of the oxide semiconductor layer and oxidize the oxide semiconductor layer (heat treatment for dehydration or dehydrogenation) is performed. Not only impurities such as moisture in the oxide semiconductor layer but also those existing in a gate insulating layer are reduced, and impurities such as moisture existing in interfaces between the oxide semiconductor layer and films provided over and under and in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer are reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 13, 2014Publication date: March 12, 2015Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Miyuki HOSOBA, Kosei NODA, Hiroki OHARA, Toshinari SASAKI, Junichiro SAKATA
-
Publication number: 20150048364Abstract: An object is to control composition and a defect of an oxide semiconductor, another object is to increase a field effect mobility of a thin film transistor and to obtain a sufficient on-off ratio with a reduced off current. A solution is to employ an oxide semiconductor whose composition is represented by InMO3(ZnO)m, where M is one or a plurality of elements selected from Ga, Fe, Ni, Mn, Co, and Al, and m is preferably a non-integer number of greater than 0 and less than 1. The concentration of Zn is lower than the concentrations of In and M. The oxide semiconductor has an amorphous structure. Oxide and nitride layers can be provided to prevent pollution and degradation of the oxide semiconductor.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 25, 2014Publication date: February 19, 2015Inventors: Shunichi ITO, Toshinari SASAKI, Miyuki HOSOBA, Junichiro SAKATA
-
Publication number: 20150044818Abstract: It is an object to provide a manufacturing method of a structure of a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor film, in which threshold voltage at which a channel is formed is positive and as close to 0 V as possible. A protective insulating layer is formed to cover a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer that is dehydrated or dehydrogenated by first heat treatment, and second heat treatment at a temperature that is lower than that of the first heat treatment, in which the increase and decrease in temperature are repeated plural times, is performed, whereby a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer, in which threshold voltage at which a channel is formed is positive and as close to 0 V as possible without depending on the channel length, can be manufactured.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 23, 2014Publication date: February 12, 2015Inventors: Masashi TSUBUKU, Shuhei YOSHITOMI, Takahiro TSUJI, Miyuki HOSOBA, Junichiro SAKATA, Hiroyuki TOMATSU, Masahiko HAYAKAWA
-
Publication number: 20150017762Abstract: An object is to provide a display device with excellent display characteristics, where a pixel circuit and a driver circuit provided over one substrate are formed using transistors which have different structures corresponding to characteristics of the respective circuits. The driver circuit portion includes a driver circuit transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using a metal film, and a channel layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel portion includes a pixel transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using an oxide conductor, and a semiconductor layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel transistor is formed using a light-transmitting material, and thus, a display device with higher aperture ratio can be manufactured.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2014Publication date: January 15, 2015Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI, Junichiro SAKATA, Masashi TSUBUKU, Kengo AKIMOTO, Miyuki HOSOBA, Masayuki SAKAKURA, Yoshiaki OIKAWA
-
Patent number: 8912541Abstract: One object of the present invention is to increase an aperture ratio of a semiconductor device. A pixel portion and a driver circuit are provided over one substrate. The first thin film transistor (TFT) in the pixel portion includes: a gate electrode layer over the substrate; a gate insulating layer over the gate electrode layer; an oxide semiconductor layer over the gate insulating layer; source and drain electrode layers over the oxide semiconductor layer; over the gate insulating layer, the oxide semiconductor layer, the source and drain electrode layers, a protective insulating layer which is in contact with part of the oxide semiconductor layer; and a pixel electrode layer over the protective insulating layer. The pixel portion has light-transmitting properties. Further, a material of source and drain electrode layers of a second TFT in the driver circuit is different from a material of those of the first TFT.Type: GrantFiled: August 2, 2010Date of Patent: December 16, 2014Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Junichiro Sakata, Miyuki Hosoba, Eriko Nishida
-
Patent number: 8900916Abstract: A highly reliable semiconductor device which includes a thin film transistor having stable electric characteristics, and a manufacturing method thereof. In the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device which includes a thin film transistor where a semiconductor layer including a channel formation region is an oxide semiconductor layer, heat treatment which reduces impurities such as moisture to improve the purity of the oxide semiconductor layer and oxidize the oxide semiconductor layer (heat treatment for dehydration or dehydrogenation) is performed. Not only impurities such as moisture in the oxide semiconductor layer but also those existing in a gate insulating layer are reduced, and impurities such as moisture existing in interfaces between the oxide semiconductor layer and films provided over and under and in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer are reduced.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2010Date of Patent: December 2, 2014Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Miyuki Hosoba, Kosei Noda, Hiroki Ohara, Toshinari Sasaki, Junichiro Sakata
-
Patent number: 8890166Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting device in which plural kinds of circuits are formed over the same substrate, and plural kinds of thin film transistors are provided in accordance with characteristics of the plural kinds of circuits. An inverted-coplanar thin film transistor, an oxide semiconductor layer of which overlaps with a source and drain electrode layers, and a channel-etched thin film transistor are used as a thin film transistor for a pixel and a thin film transistor for a driver circuit, respectively. Between the thin film transistor for a pixel and a light-emitting element, a color filter layer is provided so as to overlap with the light-emitting element which is electrically connected to the thin film transistor for a pixel.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2010Date of Patent: November 18, 2014Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Masayuki Sakakura, Yoshiaki Oikawa, Shunpei Yamazaki, Junichiro Sakata, Masashi Tsubuku, Kengo Akimoto, Miyuki Hosoba
-
Patent number: 8889496Abstract: It is an object to provide a manufacturing method of a structure of a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor film, in which threshold voltage at which a channel is formed is positive and as close to 0 V as possible. A protective insulating layer is formed to cover a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer that is dehydrated or dehydrogenated by first heat treatment, and second heat treatment at a temperature that is lower than that of the first heat treatment, in which the increase and decrease in temperature are repeated plural times, is performed, whereby a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer, in which threshold voltage at which a channel is formed is positive and as close to 0 V as possible without depending on the channel length, can be manufactured.Type: GrantFiled: June 13, 2013Date of Patent: November 18, 2014Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Masashi Tsubuku, Shuhei Yoshitomi, Takahiro Tsuji, Miyuki Hosoba, Junichiro Sakata, Hiroyuki Tomatsu, Masahiko Hayakawa
-
Publication number: 20140326996Abstract: An object is to provide a semiconductor device having a structure in which parasitic capacitance between wirings can be efficiently reduced. In a bottom gate thin film transistor using an oxide semiconductor layer, an oxide insulating layer used as a channel protection layer is formed above and in contact with part of the oxide semiconductor layer overlapping with a gate electrode layer, and at the same time an oxide insulating layer covering a peripheral portion (including a side surface) of the stacked oxide semiconductor layer is formed. Further, a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer are formed in a manner such that they do not overlap with the channel protection layer. Thus, a structure in which an insulating layer over the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer is in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer is provided.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 17, 2014Publication date: November 6, 2014Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Miyuki Hosoba, Junichiro Sakata, Hideaki Kuwabara
-
Patent number: 8878172Abstract: An object is to control composition and a defect of an oxide semiconductor, another object is to increase a field effect mobility of a thin film transistor and to obtain a sufficient on-off ratio with a reduced off current. A solution is to employ an oxide semiconductor whose composition is represented by InMO3(ZnO)m, where M is one or a plurality of elements selected from Ga, Fe, Ni, Mn, Co, and Al, and m is preferably a non-integer number of greater than 0 and less than 1. The concentration of Zn is lower than the concentrations of In and M. The oxide semiconductor has an amorphous structure. Oxide and nitride layers can be provided to prevent pollution and degradation of the oxide semiconductor.Type: GrantFiled: October 19, 2009Date of Patent: November 4, 2014Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunichi Ito, Toshinari Sasaki, Miyuki Hosoba, Junichiro Sakata
-
Patent number: 8878178Abstract: An object is to manufacture a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor at low cost with high productivity in such a manner that a photolithography process is simplified by reducing the number of light-exposure masks. In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a channel-etched inverted-stagger thin film transistor, an oxide semiconductor film and a conductive film are etched using a mask layer formed with the use of a multi-tone mask which is a light-exposure mask through which light is transmitted so as to have a plurality of intensities. The etching step is performed by wet etching in which an etching solution is used.Type: GrantFiled: December 6, 2012Date of Patent: November 4, 2014Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunichi Ito, Miyuki Hosoba
-
Patent number: 8879011Abstract: An object is to provide a display device with excellent display characteristics, where a pixel circuit and a driver circuit provided over one substrate are formed using transistors which have different structures corresponding to characteristics of the respective circuits. The driver circuit portion includes a driver circuit transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using a metal film, and a channel layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel portion includes a pixel transistor in which a gate electrode layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer are formed using an oxide conductor, and a semiconductor layer is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The pixel transistor is formed using a light-transmitting material, and thus, a display device with higher aperture ratio can be manufactured.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2014Date of Patent: November 4, 2014Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Junichiro Sakata, Masashi Tsubuku, Kengo Akimoto, Miyuki Hosoba, Masayuki Sakakura, Yoshiaki Oikawa
-
Publication number: 20140273343Abstract: An object is to manufacture a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor at low cost with high productivity in such a manner that a photolithography process is simplified by reducing the number of light-exposure masks. In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a channel-etched inverted-staggered thin film transistor, an oxide semiconductor film and a conductive film are etched using a mask layer formed with the use of a multi-tone mask which is a light-exposure mask through which light is transmitted so as to have a plurality of intensities. In etching steps, a first etching step is performed by dry etching in which an etching gas is used, and a second etching step is performed by wet etching in which an etchant is used.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 27, 2014Publication date: September 18, 2014Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shunichi ITO, Miyuki HOSOBA, Hideomi SUZAWA, Shinya SASAGAWA, Taiga MURAOKA