Abstract: To provide a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor film having conductivity, or a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor film having a light-transmitting property and conductivity. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes the steps of forming an oxide semiconductor film over a first insulating film, performing first heat treatment in an atmosphere where oxygen contained in the oxide semiconductor film is released, and performing second heat treatment in a hydrogen-containing atmosphere, so that an oxide semiconductor film having conductivity is formed.

Abstract: An object is to suppress occurrence of oxygen deficiency. An oxide semiconductor film is formed using germanium (Ge) instead of part of or all of gallium (Ga) or tin (Sn). At least one of bonds between a germanium (Ge) atom and oxygen (O) atoms has a bond energy higher than at least one of bonds between a tin (Sn) atom and oxygen (O) atoms or a gallium (Ga) atom and oxygen (O) atoms. Thus, a crystal of an oxide semiconductor formed using germanium (Ge) has a low possibility of occurrence of oxygen deficiency. Accordingly, an oxide semiconductor film is formed using germanium (Ge) in order to suppress occurrence of oxygen deficiency.

Abstract: In a semiconductor device using a transistor including an oxide semiconductor, a change in electrical characteristics is suppressed and reliability is improved. The semiconductor device includes a gate electrode over an insulating surface; an oxide semiconductor film overlapping with the gate electrode; a gate insulating film that is between the gate electrode and the oxide semiconductor film and in contact with the oxide semiconductor film; a protective film in contact with a surface of the oxide semiconductor film that is an opposite side of a surface in contact with the gate insulating film; and a pair of electrodes in contact with the oxide semiconductor film. The spin density of the gate insulating film or the protective film measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy is lower than 1×1018 spins/cm3, preferably higher than or equal to 1×1017 spins/cm3 and lower than 1×1018 spins/cm3.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer, a gate electrode overlapping with the semiconductor layer, a first gate insulating layer between the semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, and a second gate insulating layer between the first gate insulating layer and the gate electrode. The first gate insulating layer includes an oxide in which the nitrogen content is lower than or equal to 5 at. %, and the second gate insulating layer includes charge trap states.

Abstract: A semiconductor device including a highly reliable transistor formed using an oxide semiconductor is manufactured. An oxide semiconductor film is deposited by a sputtering method, using a sputtering target including an oxide semiconductor having crystallinity, and in which the direction of the c-axis of a crystal is parallel to a normal vector of the top surface of the oxide semiconductor. The target is formed by mixing raw materials so that its composition ratio can obtain a crystal structure.

Abstract: The stability of a step of processing a wiring formed using copper, aluminum, gold, silver, molybdenum, or the like is increased. Moreover, the concentration of impurities in a semiconductor film is reduced. Moreover, the electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device are improved. In a transistor including an oxide semiconductor film, an oxide film in contact with the oxide semiconductor film, and a pair of conductive films being in contact with the oxide film and including copper, aluminum, gold, silver, molybdenum, or the like, the oxide film has a plurality of crystal parts and has c-axis alignment in the crystal parts, and the c-axes are aligned in a direction parallel to a normal vector of a top surface of the oxide semiconductor film or the oxide film.

Abstract: Methods for manufacturing a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor device by which a high-performance semiconductor element can be formed are provided. A single crystal semiconductor substrate including an embrittlement layer and a base substrate are bonded to each other with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and the single crystal semiconductor substrate is separated along the embrittlement layer by heat treatment to fix a single crystal semiconductor layer over the base substrate. Next, a plurality of regions of a monitor substrate are irradiated with laser light under conditions of different energy densities, and carbon concentration distribution and hydrogen concentration distribution in a depth direction of each region of the single crystal semiconductor layer which has been irradiated with the laser light is measured.

Abstract: A calculation method for finding the hole mobility or the electron mobility of an organic film. The method includes the steps of: calculating the electron density of a film using semi-empirical quantum molecular dynamics calculations; using the fact that holes and electrons move easily through regions of high electron density to calculate the probability that a hole or an electron will move in an excited state in which an electron is excited from the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) to the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) using a Monte Carlo method; and, using the probability as a performance index, calculating the hole mobility from the number of carriers which exist in the HOMO and the orbitals below the HOMO, or calculating the electron mobility from the number of carriers which exist in the LUMO and the orbitals above the LUMO.

Abstract: There have been cases where transistors formed using oxide semiconductors are inferior in reliability to transistors formed using amorphous silicon. Thus, in the present invention, a semiconductor device including a highly reliable transistor formed using an oxide semiconductor is manufactured. An oxide semiconductor film is deposited by a sputtering method, using a sputtering target including an oxide semiconductor having crystallinity, and in which the direction of the c-axis of a crystal is parallel to a normal vector of the top surface of the oxide semiconductor. The target is formed by mixing raw materials so that its composition ratio can obtain a crystal structure.

Abstract: There have been cases where transistors formed using oxide semiconductors are inferior in reliability to transistors formed using amorphous silicon. Thus, in the present invention, a semiconductor device including a highly reliable transistor formed using an oxide semiconductor is manufactured. An oxide semiconductor film is deposited by a sputtering method, using a sputtering target including an oxide semiconductor having crystallinity, and in which the direction of the c-axis of a crystal is parallel to a normal vector of the top surface of the oxide semiconductor. The target is formed by mixing raw materials so that its composition ratio can obtain a crystal structure.

Abstract: There have been cases where transistors formed using oxide semiconductors are inferior in reliability to transistors formed using amorphous silicon. Thus, in the present invention, a semiconductor device including a highly reliable transistor formed using an oxide semiconductor is manufactured. An oxide semiconductor film is deposited by a sputtering method, using a sputtering target including an oxide semiconductor having crystallinity, and in which the direction of the c-axis of a crystal is parallel to a normal vector of the top surface of the oxide semiconductor. The target is formed by mixing raw materials so that its composition ratio can obtain a crystal structure.

Abstract: The impurity concentration in the oxide semiconductor film is reduced, and a highly reliability can be obtained.

Abstract: Stable electrical characteristics are given to a transistor and a highly reliable semiconductor device is provided. In addition, an oxide material which enables manufacture of such a semiconductor device is provided. An oxide film is used in which two or more kinds of crystalline portions which are different from each other in a direction of an a-axis or a direction of a b-axis in an a-b plane (or the top surface, or the formation surface) are included, and each of the crystalline portions is c-axis aligned, has at least one of triangular atomic arrangement and hexagonal atomic arrangement when seen from a direction perpendicular to the a-b plane, a top surface, or a formation surface, includes metal atoms arranged in a layered manner, or metal atoms and oxygen atoms arranged in a layered manner along the c-axis, and is expressed as In2SnZn2O7(ZnO)m (m is 0 or a natural number).

Abstract: An object is to provide a material suitably used for a semiconductor included in a transistor, a diode, or the like. Another object is to provide a semiconductor device including a transistor in which the condition of an electron state at an interface between an oxide semiconductor film and a gate insulating film in contact with the oxide semiconductor film is favorable. Further, another object is to manufacture a highly reliable semiconductor device by giving stable electric characteristics to a transistor in which an oxide semiconductor film is used for a channel. A semiconductor device is formed using an oxide material which includes crystal with c-axis alignment, which has a triangular or hexagonal atomic arrangement when seen from the direction of a surface or an interface and rotates around the c-axis.

Abstract: Methods for manufacturing a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor device by which a high-performance semiconductor element can be formed are provided. A single crystal semiconductor substrate including an embrittlement layer and a base substrate are bonded to each other with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and the single crystal semiconductor substrate is separated along the embrittlement layer by heat treatment to fix a single crystal semiconductor layer over the base substrate. Next, a plurality of regions of a monitor substrate are irradiated with laser light under conditions of different energy densities, and carbon concentration distribution and hydrogen concentration distribution in a depth direction of each region of the single crystal semiconductor layer which has been irradiated with the laser light is measured.

Abstract: Methods for manufacturing a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor device by which a high-performance semiconductor element can be formed are provided. A single crystal semiconductor substrate including an embrittlement layer and a base substrate are bonded to each other with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and the single crystal semiconductor substrate is separated along the embrittlement layer by heat treatment to fix a single crystal semiconductor layer over the base substrate. Next, a plurality of regions of a monitor substrate are irradiated with laser light under conditions of different energy densities, and carbon concentration distribution and hydrogen concentration distribution in a depth direction of each region of the single crystal semiconductor layer which has been irradiated with the laser light is measured.

Abstract: Methods for manufacturing a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor device by which a high-performance semiconductor element can be formed are provided. A single crystal semiconductor substrate including an embrittlement layer and a base substrate are bonded to each other with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and the single crystal semiconductor substrate is separated along the embrittlement layer by heat treatment to fix a single crystal semiconductor layer over the base substrate. Next, a plurality of regions of a monitor substrate are irradiated with laser light under conditions of different energy densities, and carbon concentration distribution and hydrogen concentration distribution in a depth direction of each region of the single crystal semiconductor layer which has been irradiated with the laser light is measured.

Abstract: A calculation method for finding the hole mobility or the electron mobility of an organic film. The method includes the steps of: calculating the electron density of a film using semi-empirical quantum molecular dynamics calculations; using the fact that holes and electrons move easily through regions of high electron density to calculate the probability that a hole or an electron will move in an excited state in which an electron is excited from the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) to the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) using a Monte Carlo method; and, using the probability as a performance index, calculating the hole mobility from the number of carriers which exist in the HOMO and the orbitals below the HOMO, or calculating the electron mobility from the number of carriers which exist in the LUMO and the orbitals above the LUMO.