Abstract: The present invention has a semiconductor device including a substrate made of an insulating material, a gate electrode formed on the substrate, a thin film made of a silicon semiconductor and formed on the gate electrode through a gate insulating film, a protective film formed on the thin film and having two opposing major surfaces, and a source electrode and a drain electrode formed to be electrically connected with the thin film, wherein the first major surface of the two major surfaces of the protective film is in contact with the thin film, and a region near the second major surface of the protective film contains oxygen.

Abstract: A thin-film transistor device comprising a pixel section including a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in rows and columns on a substrate and a plurality of thin-film transistors of reverse stagger type, connected as switching elements to the pixel electrodes, respectively, and a drive section including a plurality of thin-film transistors of coplanar type, each having a gate insulating film, for driving the thin-film transistors of the reverse stagger type. A lower insulating film is located beneath the thin-film transistors of the reverse stagger type. The lower insulating film and the gate insulating films of the thin-film transistors of the coplanar type are formed of a first insulating film provided on the substrate.

Abstract: A photo-assisted CVD apparatus including a reaction chamber for storing a substrate, an inlet port for feeding a source gas into the reaction chamber, a light source for radiating light on the source gas fed into the reaction chamber to decompose the source gas upon radiating the light, thereby depositing a film on the substrate, an inlet port for supplying an etching gas into the reaction chamber, and a discharge electrode, arranged above the substrate and having a configuration, surrounding a space above the substrate, for exciting the etching gas.

Abstract: An inverted stagger thin film transistor includes an insulating substrate, a silicon active layer formed thereon, source and drain ohmic contact layers, source and drain electrodes respectively contacting the source and drain ohmic contact layers, and a gate electrode opposite to the channel region of the active layer through a gate insulating film. An auxiliary film consisting of a silicon film doped with nitrogen is formed in the surface of the active layer, and the ohmic contact layers contact the auxiliary film. The auxiliary film can be continuously formed from the active layer to the ohmic contact layers, thereby improving a junction state between the active layer and the ohmic contact layers.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a solid-state image sensor comprises the steps of preparing a solid-state image sensor substrate in which a signal charge storing diode and a signal charge readout section are formed and forming, as a photoelectric conversion section, a photoconductive film having an amorphous silicon film on the substrate. The amorphous silicon film is formed by introducing a source gas containing silicon compounds on the substrate and decomposing the source gas by radiating ultraviolet light on the source gas while the solid-state image sensor substrate is kept at a temperature of 100.degree. to 350.degree. C.

Abstract: A photovoltaic device comprises a transparent substrate, an amorphous silicon layer structure of a p-i-n type formed on the substrate and comprised of a p-layer, i-layer and n-layer, and an electrode formed on the amorphous silicon layer structure, wherein either the p-layer and n-layer of the amorphous silicon layer structure, on which light is incident is constituted such that its optical forbidden band gap is greater on the i-layer side than on the substrate side.