IP Library Granted Patent US 7,670,886
Granted Patent B2
US 7,670,886 · App. 11/472,858 · Granted Mar 2, 2010

Method for fabricating polysilicon film

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,670,886
App. No.
11/472,858
Granted
Mar 2, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method of fabricating a polysilicon film includes: forming a seed layer on a surface of a substrate; forming a silicon layer over the surface of the seed layer; and performing a laser annealing process to transform the silicon layer into a polysilicon layer at a laser energy equal to or greater than that needed to cause complete melting of the silicon layer.

Claims (32)

1. A method of fabricating a polysilicon film comprising:

forming a seed layer with a highly preferred orientation on a surface of a substrate, wherein the seed layer comprises cerium oxide (CeO 2 ), calcium fluoride (CaF 2 ), or zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 );

forming an amorphous silicon layer over the surface of the seed layer; and

performing a laser annealing process to transform the amorphous silicon layer into a polysilicon layer according to the highly preferred orientation of the seed layer and at a laser energy equal to or greater than that needed to cause complete melting of the amorphous silicon layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a glass substrate.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a barrier layer between the seed layer and the substrate.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the formation of the seed layer is achieved by sputtering, atomic layer deposition (ALD), evaporation, or chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the formation of the amorphous silicon layer is achieved by chemical vapor deposition.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the seed layer is 500 to 5000 angstroms.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the seed layer comprises a crystal structure.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the seed layer is lattice-matched to the polysilicon layer.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the grain size of the seed layer is from 500 to 5000 angstroms.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the laser annealing process comprises excimer laser annealing process, or solid-state laser annealing process.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the laser annealing process is performed at an energy of 250 to 500 mJ/cm2.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising utilizing a plurality of laser pulses for performing the laser annealing process.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising utilizing 2 to 10 pulses for performing the laser annealing process.

14. A method of fabricating a thin film transistor, comprising:

forming a polysilicon layer on a substrate, the substrate comprising an active area, a source, and a drain active layer comprising area;

forming a gate insulating layer on the polysilicon layer;

forming a gate layer on the gate insulating layer,

wherein the polysilicon layer is formed by the following steps:

forming a seed layer with a highly preferred orientation on a surface of a substrate, wherein the seed layer comprises cerium oxide (CeO 2 ), calcium fluoride (CaF 2 ), or zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 );

forming an amorphous layer over the surface of the seed layer; and

performing a laser annealing process to transform the amorphous silicon layer into a polysilicon layer according to the highly preferred orientation of the seed layer and at a laser energy equal to or greater than that needed to cause complete melting of the amorphous silicon layer.

15. A method of fabricating a display panel, comprising:

forming a top substrate having a common electrode and a color filter disposed thereon;

forming a bottom substrate having a pixel electrode disposed thereon;

forming the thin film transistor on the bottom substrate according to the method as claimed in claim 14 ; and

forming a liquid crystal layer disposed between the top substrate and the bottom substrate.

16. A method of fabricating an electronic device, comprising:

forming the display panel according to the method as claimed in claim 15 ; and

forming an input unit coupled to the display panel and operative to provide input to the display panel such that the display panel displays images.

Assignments (4)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 7, 2014
From: CHIMEI INNOLUX CORPORATION
To: INNOLUX CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 032621/0718 →
MERGER Recorded Jan 26, 2011
From: TPO DISPLAYS CORP.
To: CHIMEI INNOLUX CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 025702/0870 →
CORRECTED COVER SHEET TO CORRECT ASSIGNEE NAME, PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 018028/0895 (ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST) Recorded Aug 28, 2006
From: KAKKAD, RAMESH
To: TPO DISPLAYS CORP.
Reel/Frame 018241/0381 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 22, 2006
From: KAKKAD, RAMESH
To: TOPPOLY OPTOELECTRONICS CORP.
Reel/Frame 018028/0895 →