SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROCESSING THIN FILMS
The present disclosure is directed to methods and systems for processing a thin film samples. In an exemplary method, semiconductor thin films are loaded onto two different loading fixtures, laser beam pulses generated by a laser source system are split into first laser beam pulses and second laser beam pulses, the thin film loaded on one loading fixture is irradiated with the first laser beam pulses to induce crystallization while the thin film loaded on the other loading fixture is irradiated with the second laser beam pulses. In a preferred embodiment, at least a portion of the thin film that is loaded on the first loading fixture is irradiated while at least a portion of the thin film that is loaded on the second loading fixture is also being irradiated. In an exemplary embodiment, the laser source system includes first and second laser sources and an integrator that combines the laser beam pulses generated by the first and second laser sources to form combined laser beam pulses. In certain exemplary embodiments, the methods and system further utilize additional loading fixtures for processing additional thin film samples. In such methods and systems, the irradiation of thin film samples loaded on some of the loading fixtures can be performed while thin film samples are being loaded onto the remaining loading fixtures. In certain exemplary methods and systems, the crystallization processing of the semiconductor thin film samples can consist of a sequential lateral solidification (SLS) process.
1 . A system for processing a plurality of thin films, comprising:
a laser source system for generating laser beam pulses each having a pulse duration;
a first loading fixture for securing a thin film;
a second loading fixture for securing a thin film;
a beam splitting element for splitting said generated laser beam pulses into at least first laser beam pulses and second laser beam pulses; and
wherein a thin film loaded on said first loading fixture can be irradiated with said first laser beam pulses and a thin film loaded on said second loading fixture can be irradiated with said second laser beam pulses, and wherein at least a portion of said thin film loaded on said second loading fixture can be irradiated while said thin film loaded on said first loading fixture is being irradiated.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein said laser source system comprises:
a first laser source for generating first component laser beam pulses each having a first pulse duration;
a second laser source for generating second component laser beam pulses each having a second pulse duration; and
an integrator for combining said first component laser beam pulses with said second component laser beam pulses to form said generated laser beam pulses.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the integrator combines said first component laser beam pulse with said second component laser beam pulse with a time delay that exists between said first and second component laser beam pulses.
4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the integrator constructively adds at least a portion of said first component laser beam to at least a portion of said second component laser beam pulse.
5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a third loading fixture for securing a thin film;
and wherein a thin film loaded on said third loading fixture can be irradiated with said first laser beam pulses.
6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein said beam splitting element is capable of directing said first laser beam pulses to said first loading fixture and said third loading fixture.
7 . The system of claim 5 , further comprising:
a beam steering element, wherein said beam steering element is capable of directing said first laser beam pulses to said first loading fixture and said third loading fixture.
8 . The system of claim 5 , further comprising a fourth loading fixture for securing a thin film, and wherein a thin film loaded on said fourth loading fixture can be irradiated with said second laser beam pulses.
9 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising:
a first beam steering element, wherein said first beam steering element is capable of directing said first laser beam pulses to said first loading fixture and said third loading fixture; and
a second beam steering element, wherein said second beam steering element is capable of directing said second laser beam pulses to said second loading fixture and said fourth loading fixture.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein said system is utilized to process semiconductor thin films.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein said semiconductor thin film comprises silicon, germanium or silicon-germanium.
12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein said process comprises at least one of the following: an excimer laser anneal (ELA) process, a sequential lateral solidification (SLS) process and a uniform grain structure (UGS) crystallization process.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein said system is utilized to process thin films that are comprised of a metallic material.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein said metallic material comprises at least one of the following: aluminum, copper, nickel, titanium, gold and molybdenum.
15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein said laser source system consists of at least one of the following: a continuous wave laser, a solid-state laser and an excimer laser.
16 . A system for processing a thin film, comprising:
a laser source system for generating laser beam pulses by generating initial laser beam pulses having an initial pulse duration, and modifying said initial laser beam pulses to generate laser beam pulses having a pulse duration longer than said initial pulse duration;
a loading fixture for securing a thin film;
a beam splitting element for splitting said generated laser beam pulses into at least first laser beam pulses and second laser beam pulses; and
wherein a region of a thin film that is loaded on said holding fixture can be irradiated with said first laser beam pulses and another region of said thin film can be simultaneously irradiated with said second laser beam pulses.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the laser source modifies said initial laser beam pulses by extending said initial laser beam pulses.
18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the laser source generates initial laser beam pulses by generating first and second component laser beam pulses having first and second pulse durations, and wherein the laser source modifies said initial laser beam pulses by combining said first and second component laser beam pulses.
19 . A system for processing a thin film, comprising:
a laser source system for generating laser beam pulses by generating initial laser beam pulses having an initial pulse duration, and modifying said initial laser beam pulses to generate laser beam pulses having a pulse duration longer than said initial pulse duration;
at least one loading fixture for securing at least one thin film;
a beam splitting element for splitting said generated laser beam pulses into at least first laser beam pulses and second laser beam pulses; and
wherein a first region of said at least one thin film can be irradiated with said first laser beam pulses and a second region of said at least one thin film can be simultaneously irradiated with said second laser beam pulses.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein said first and second regions are located on a single thin film.
21 . The system of claim 19 , wherein said first region is located on a first thin film and said second region is located on a second thin film.
22 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the laser source modifies said initial laser beam pulses by extending said initial laser beam pulses.
23 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the laser source generates initial laser beam pulses by generating first and second component laser beam pulses having first and second pulse durations, and wherein the laser source modifies said initial laser beam pulses by combining said first and second component laser beam pulses.