Abstract: There is provided a method for fabricating an image display device having an active matrix substrate including high-performance transistor circuits operating with high mobility as drive circuits for driving pixel portions which are arranged as a matrix. The portion of a polysilicon film formed in a drive circuit region DAR1 provided on the periphery of the pixel region PAR of the active matrix substrate SUB1 composing the image display device is irradiated and scanned with a pulse modulated laser beam or a pseudo CW laser beam to be reformed into a quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon film having a crystal boundary continuous in the scanning direction so that discrete reformed regions each composed of the quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon film are formed.

Abstract: An image display device which includes a display pixel block and circuit blocks peripheral thereto. Each block has a circuit made of high-performance thin film transistors. The display pixel block and the peripheral circuit blocks including the four corners of the display device are formed on an image display device substrate of circuit-built-in type thin film transistors having a small circuit occupation surface area. A circuit including thin film transistors of a polycrystalline silicon film anisotropically crystal-grown and having crystal grains aligned in its longitudinal direction with a current direction is provided in the whole or partial surface of the display pixel block and circuit blocks. The longitudinal direction is aligned with a horizontal or vertical direction within the block, and blocks aligned in the horizontal and vertical directions can be arranged as mixed when viewed from an identical straight line.

Abstract: Apparatus for fabricating a display device includes a stage capable of mounting an insulating substrate of the display device and moving the insulating substrate, linear scales which detect a position or moving distance of the substrate, a laser oscillator which generates continuous-waves laser light, a modulator which turns ON/OFF the continuous-wave laser light, a beam forming optic which shapes the continuous-wave laser light passing through the modulator into a linear or rectangular form, an objective lens which projects the at least one of the laser light on the insulating substrate so as to irradiate the insulating substrate with the laser light.

Abstract: A process for producing an image display device using a thin film semiconductor device is provided which includes forming a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film on a substrate. A substantially belt-shaped crystal is formed which is crystallized so as to grow crystal grains in a direction substantially parallel to a scanning direction of a CW laser beam by scanning the CW laser beam along the substrate, thereby irradiating the CW laser beam on portions of the polycrystalline semiconductor thin film formed onto the substrate.

Abstract: The active layer (active region) of the thin-film transistor making up the driver circuit is obtained by reformation implemented by scanning the continuous-wave laser light, condensed into a linear form or a rectangle form extremely longer in the longitudinal direction than in the transverse direction, along a given direction crossing the longitudinal direction. This is made up of a poly silicon film containing crystal grains having no grain boundaries crossing the direction of current flow, that is, a band-like polycrystalline silicon film. As a result, it is possible to implement a display device having stable and high quality active elements outside the display region on the insulating substrate.

Abstract: A process is provided for producing an image display device which includes a thin film semiconductor device. In accordance with the process, semiconductor crystal grains are grown in a transverse direction in a semiconductor film by modulating a continuous wave laser into a pulsed laser beam and then irradiating the pulsed laser beam on the semiconductor film.

Abstract: A method of forming thin-film semiconductor device is provided in which an island region of an isolated single-crystal thin-film is formed on an entire surface or within a specific region of an insulating film by utilizing cohesion phenomena due to the surface tension of a melted semiconductor, wherein more than one active region of a thin-film transistor is formed in the island region.

Abstract: An information memory device capable of reading and writing of information by mechanical operation of a floating gate layer, in which a gate insulation film has a cavity (6), and a floating gate layer (5) having two stable deflection states in the cavity (6), the state stabilized by deflecting toward the channel side of transistor, and the state stabilized by deflecting toward the gate (7) side, writing and reading of information can be made by changing the stable deflection state of the floating gate layer (5) by Coulomb interactive force between the electrons (or positive holes 8) accumulated in the floating gate layer (5) and external electric field, and by reading the channel current change based on the state of the floating gate layer (5).

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a document processing apparatus capable of extracting written-in notes on a paper document and printing a document only of written-in notes or a document with a part of written-in notes by a writer left behind, and setting a limit on printing on each written-in note. The above object is achieved by apparatus for processing a document by providing a paper document to print with information for identifying an electronic document as the origin of printing, comprising: written-in notes extracting means for extracting a difference (written-in notes) between the paper document and an electronic document and storing written-notes as image information; text conversion means for converting extracted written-in notes into text as character information, and storing the text; and means for generating a print document by laying out image information of written-in notes and written-in information in text form.

Abstract: Arrangements (e.g., methods) for manufacturing a display device, including irradiating an amorphous semiconductor film formed on a substrate with an excimer laser beam to convert the amorphous semiconductor film into a polycrystalline semiconductor film; and irradiating predetermined areas of the polycrystalline semiconductor film intermittently with a continuous wave laser beam while a position of the substrate with respect to the continuous wave laser beam is scanned, crystal grains larger than those of the polycrystalline semiconductor film other than the predetermined areas are formed in each of the predetermined areas locally in the polycrystalline semiconductor film, wherein first thin film transistors are formed in the predetermined areas while second thin film transistors are formed in the polycrystalline semiconductor film other than the predetermined areas thereof.

Abstract: In a film semiconductor device according to the present invention, a continuous oscillating light beam from a solid laser or the like is modulated on time axis and spatially, thereby realizing crystal growth that is nearly optimum for a crystal structure and growth speed of crystals in a Si thin film. Crystal grains with a large diameter, flatness with no projections at their grain boundaries, and controlled surface orientations are thereby formed. By forming channels with these crystal grains, high mobility semiconductor devices and an image display device using these semiconductor devices are realized.

Abstract: In a thin film semiconductor device according to the present invention, a continuous oscillating light beam from a solid laser or the like is modulated on time axis and spatially, thereby realizing crystal growth that is nearly optimum for a crystal structure and a growth speed of crystals in a Si thin film. Crystal grains with a large diameter, flatness with no projections at their grain boundaries, and controlled surface orientations are thereby formed. By forming channels with these crystal grains, high-mobility semiconductor devices and an image display device using these semiconductor devices are realized.

Abstract: There is provided a method for fabricating an image display device having an active matrix substrate including high-performance transistor circuits operating with high mobility as drive circuits for driving pixel portions which are arranged as a matrix. The portion of a polysilicon film formed in a drive circuit region DAR1 provided on the periphery of the pixel region PAR of the active matrix substrate SUB1 composing the image display device is irradiated and scanned with a pulse modulated laser beam or a pseudo CW laser beam to be reformed into a quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon film having a crystal boundary continuous in the scanning direction so that discrete reformed regions each composed of the quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon film are formed.

Abstract: To provide TFT of improved low-temperature polycrystalline layer that has higher electron mobility and assures less fluctuation in manufacture in view of realizing a liquid-crystal display device having a large display area by utilizing a glass substrate. A TFT having higher electron mobility can be realized within the predetermined range of characteristic fluctuation by utilizing the semiconductor thin-film (called quasi single crystal thin-film) formed of poly-crystal grain joined with the {111} twin-boundary of Diamond structure as the channel region (namely, active region) of TFT.

Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor thin film. includes a highly sensitive inspection method for detecting lateral crystals and a crystallizing method. In the crystallizing method, the time-based pulse width of a laser SXL is modulated and an approximate band-like crystal silicon film SPSI is formed in a desired region while scanning the substrate SUB1 bidirectionally in the X and ?X directions. In the inspection method, an inspection beam PRO1 is irradiated to the substrate just after the laser SXL is turned off. A protrusion TOKI will be formed on the silicon film portion where the laser SXL is turned off if the state of the silicon film is that of a lateral crystal SPSI. The inspection beam PRO1 is scattered by the protrusion TOKI and observed by a detector. If the state of the silicon film is granular crystal GGSI or aggregated film AGSI, such a protrusion TOKI is not observed.

Abstract: An image display device which includes a display pixel block and circuit blocks peripheral thereto. Each block has a circuit made of high-performance thin film transistors. The display pixel block and the peripheral circuit blocks including the four corners of the display device are formed on an image display device substrate of circuit-built-in type thin film transistors having a small circuit occupation surface area. A circuit including thin film transistors of a polycrystalline silicon film anisotropically crystal-grown and having crystal grains aligned in its longitudinal direction with a current direction is provided in the whole or partial surface of the display pixel block and circuit blocks. The longitudinal direction is aligned with a horizontal or vertical direction within the block, and blocks aligned in the horizontal and vertical directions can be arranged as mixed when viewed from an identical straight line.

Abstract: There is provided a method for fabricating an image display device having an active matrix substrate including high-performance transistor circuits operating with high mobility as drive circuits for driving pixel portions which are arranged as a matrix. The portion of a polysilicon film formed in a drive circuit region DAR1 provided on the periphery of the pixel region PAR of the active matrix substrate SUB1 composing the image display device is irradiated and scanned with a pulse modulated laser beam or a pseudo CW laser beam to be reformed into a quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon film having a crystal boundary continuous in the scanning direction so that discrete reformed regions each composed of the quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon film are formed.

Abstract: A laser beam is concentrated using an objective lens and radiated on a amorphous silicon film or polycrystalline silicon film having a grain size of one micron or less, the laser beam being processed from a continuous wave laser beam (1) to be pulsed using an EO modulator and to have arbitrary temporal energy change while pulsing ; (2) to have an arbitrary spatial energy distribution using a beam-homogenizer, filter having an arbitrary transmittance distribution, and rectangular slit; and (3) to eliminate coherency thereof using a high-speed rotating diffuser. In this manner, it is possible to realize a liquid crystal display device in which a driving circuit comprising a polycrystalline silicon film having substantially the same properties as a single crystal is incorporated in a TFT panel device.

Abstract: A thin film semiconductor device has a semiconductor thin film with a film thickness of 200 nm or less. The semiconductor thin film is formed over a dielectric substrate with a warping point of 600° C. or lower. The semiconductor thin film has a region in which a first semiconductor thin film region with the defect density of 1×1017 cm?3 or less and a second semiconductor thin film region with the defect density of 1×1017 cm?3 or more are disposed alternately in the form of stripes. The width of the first semiconductor thin film region is larger than the width of the semiconductor thin film region. The grain boundaries, grain size and orientation of crystals over the dielectric substrate are controlled, so that a high quality thin film semiconductor device is obtained.

Abstract: A thin film made of silicon or another IV-group crystals (crystals and mixed crystals of C, Ge, Sn, and Pb) is twice scanned with a laser beam moving in two lateral directions in which crystal grains grow larger in order to form high-quality polycrystals in exact positions in the thin film, while defects uncontrollable by the prior arts are being reduced significantly, to realize a high-quality TFT device. The laser-scanning directions are defined by the crystallization face orientations.