IP Library Granted Patent US 7,666,769
Granted Patent B2
US 7,666,769 · App. 11/702,576 · Granted Feb 23, 2010

Method for fabricating image display device

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,666,769
App. No.
11/702,576
Granted
Feb 23, 2010
Kind
B2
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 DAR 1 provided on the periphery of the pixel region PAR of the active matrix substrate SUB 1 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. In virtual tiles TL composed of the discrete reformed regions, drive circuits having active elements such as thin-film transistors or the like are formed such that the channel directions thereof coincide with the direction of crystal growth in the quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon film.

Claims (32)

1. A method for fabricating an image display device comprising steps of:

forming a semiconductor film over an insulating substrate;

setting lengths, intervals and a number of specified regions of various sizes to an Electro-Optic modulator;

modulating a Continuous-Wave laser into pulse modulated laser beams with the Electro-Optic modulator according to the settings; and

irradiating the specified regions of various sizes on the semiconductor film with the pulse modulated laser beams thereby forming quasi-strip-like crystal silicon films.

2. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 1 , wherein irradiating said pulse modulated laser beams is performed by moving said insulating substrate.

3. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 1 , wherein reciprocal scanning with said laser beams is performed.

4. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 1 , wherein said step of forming said semiconductor film over said insulating substrate involves forming an amorphous semiconductor film.

5. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 1 , further comprising a step of forming a positioning mark by irradiating said Continuous Wave laser to said semiconductor film.

6. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 5 , wherein positioning is performed by using said positioning mark when patterning said semiconductor film in which said quasi-strip-like crystal silicon films are formed.

7. A method for fabricating an image display device comprising steps of:

forming a semiconductor film over an insulating substrate;

setting lengths, intervals and a number of specified regions of various sizes to an Electro-Optic modulator;

modulating pseudo Continuous-Wave laser into pulse modulated laser beams with an Electro-Optic modulator thereby changing widths and intervals of the pulse modulated laser beams according to the settings; and

irradiating the specified regions of various sizes on the semiconductor film with the pulse modulated laser beams thereby forming quasi-strip-like crystal silicon films in a quasi-strip-like shape.

8. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 7 , wherein irradiating said pulse modulated laser beams is performed by moving said insulating substrate.

9. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 7 , wherein reciprocal scanning with said pulse modulated laser beams is performed.

10. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 7 , wherein said step of forming said semiconductor film over said insulating substrate involves forming an amorphous semiconductor film.

11. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 7 , further comprising a step of forming a positioning mark by irradiating said pseudo Continuous Wave laser to said semiconductor film.

12. A method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 11 , wherein positioning is performed by using said positioning mark when patterning said semiconductor film in which said quasi-strip-like crystal silicon films are formed.

13. A method for fabricating an image display device comprising:

setting lengths, intervals and a number of specified regions of various sizes to an Electro-Optic modulator;

modulating a Continuous-Wave laser into pulse modulated laser beams with the Electro-Optic modulator thereby changing widths and intervals of the pulse modulated laser beams according to the settings; and

selectively and discretely irradiating the specified regions of various sizes on a polysilicon film on a glass substrate with the pulse modulated laser beams thereby reforming the specified regions into discretely reformed regions composed of the quasi-strip-like-crystal silicon films.

14. The method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 13 , further comprising:

forming amorphous silicon films on the glass substrate; melting and crystallizing the amorphous silicon films with an excimer laser or a solid pulse laser thereby annealing to reform the amorphous silicon films into the polysilicon films before irradiating the specified regions.

15. The method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 13 , further comprising:

forming polysilicon films on the glass substrate with Cat-CVD before irradiating the specified regions.

16. The method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 15 , further comprising:

continuously and uniformly forming a chemical barrier film and a SiO film with CVD on the glass substrate before forming the amorphous silicon films.

17. The method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 13 , wherein the sizes of the specified regions are arranged in accordance with circuit sizes.

18. The method for fabricating an image display device according to claim 13 , wherein the specified regions are irregularly arranged.

Assignments (5)
COMPANY SPLIT PLAN TRANSFERRING FIFTY (50) PERCENT SHARE OF PATENTS AND PATENT APPLICATIONS Recorded Dec 12, 2011
From: HITACHI DISPLAYS, LTD.
To: IPS ALPHA SUPPORT CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 027362/0466 →
COMPANY SPLIT PLAN TRANSFERRING ONE HUNDRED (100) PERCENT SHARE OF PATENT AND PATENT APPLICATIONS Recorded Dec 12, 2011
From: HITACHI, LTD.
To: HITACHI DISPLAYS, LTD.
Reel/Frame 027362/0612 →
MERGER/CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Dec 12, 2011
From: IPS ALPHA SUPPORT CO., LTD.
To: PANASONIC LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 027363/0315 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 20, 2010
From: HITACHI, LTD.
To: HITACHI DISPLAYS, LTD.
Reel/Frame 025008/0380 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 6, 2007
From: HATANO, MUTSUKO; YAMAGUCHI, SHINYA; SHIBA, TAKEO; TAI, MITSUHARU; AKIMOTO, HAJIME
To: HITACHI, LTD.
Reel/Frame 018962/0612 →