摘要:
A laser method is provided for minimizing variations in transistor threshold voltages. The method supplies a wafer with a laser-crystallized active semiconductor film having a top surface with a first surface roughness. The method laser anneals the active semiconductor film, and in response to the laser annealing, melts the top surface of the active semiconductor film. The result is a top surface with a second roughness, less than the first roughness. More explicitly, the wafer active semiconductor film is crystallized using a laser with a first fluence, and then laser annealed with a second fluence, less than the first fluence. As compared with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect (CMOSFET) thin-film transistor (TFT) structures formed in unprocessed regions of the active semiconductor film, the TFT threshold voltage standard deviation for TFTs in laser annealed portions of the active film are 60% less for n-channel and 30% less for p-channel TFTs.
摘要:
A transistor with crystalline semiconductor stripes and an associated fabrication process are provided. The method provides a substrate, and deposits a semiconductor layer overlying the substrate. The semiconductor layer is irradiated using a scanning step-and-repeat laser annealing process, which agglomerates portions of the semiconductor layer. In response to cooling agglomerated semiconductor material, a transistor active semiconductor region is formed including a plurality of crystalline semiconductor stripes oriented along parallel axes. In one aspect, a channel region is formed from the plurality of oriented crystalline semiconductor stripes, and the method forms a gate dielectric overlying the channel region, with a gate electrode overlying the gate dielectric. In another aspect, forming the transistor active semiconductor region includes forming source, drain, and channel regions from the plurality of oriented crystalline semiconductor stripes.
摘要:
Crystalline semiconductor stripes and an associated fabrication process are provided. The method provides an insulator substrate, and deposits a semiconductor layer overlying the insulator substrate. The semiconductor layer is irradiated using a scanning step-and-repeat laser annealing process, which agglomerates portions of the semiconductor layer. In response to cooling agglomerated semiconductor material, oriented crystalline semiconductor stripes are formed on the insulator substrate. The crystalline semiconductor stripes are aligned approximately with a straight line stripe axis overlying a top surface of the insulating substrate. Each crystalline semiconductor stripe includes a plurality of consecutive ring segments aligned with the stripe axis. The rings segments have a width about equal to the laser annealing process step distance. The crystalline semiconductor stripes typically have a top surface shape of a truncated cylinder or a parabolic cross section.
摘要:
A structure with location-controlled crystallization of an active semiconductor film using a crystal seed has been provided, along with an associated fabrication method. The method forms a first semiconductor film overlying a substrate having a crystallographic orientation. Typically, the structure is polycrystalline or single-crystal. The first semiconductor film is selectively etched, forming a seed region. An insulator is formed with an opening, exposing the seed region. An amorphous second semiconductor film is formed over the insulator layer. The second semiconductor film is laser annealed, partially melting the seed region. Crystal grains are laterally grown in the second semiconductor film having the same crystallographic orientation as the seed region. In TFT fabrication an etching is typically performed to remove the second semiconductor film overlying the seed region, and a transistor active region is formed in the remaining second semiconductor film.
摘要:
A method is provided for consuming oxides in a silicon (Si) nanoparticle film. The method forms a colloidal solution film of Si nanoparticles overlying a substrate. The Si nanoparticle colloidal solution film is annealed at a high temperature in the presence of titanium (Ti). In response to the annealing, Si oxide is consumed in a resultant Si nanoparticle film. In one aspect, the consuming the Si oxide in the Si nanoparticle film includes forming Ti oxide in the Si nanoparticle film. Also in response to a low temperature annealing, solvents are evaporated in the colloidal solution film of Si nanoparticles. Si and Ti oxide molecules are sintered in the Si nanoparticle film in response to the high temperature annealing.
摘要:
A dual-gate thin-film transistor (DG-TFT) voltage storage circuit is provided. The circuit includes a voltage storage element, a DG-TFT having a first source/drain (S/D) connected to a data line, a top gate connected to a first gate line, a second S/D region connected to the voltage storage element, and a bottom gate connected to a bias line. In one aspect, the circuit further includes a voltage shifter having an input connected to the first gate line and an output to supply a bias voltage on the bias line. Examples of a voltage storage element include a capacitor, a liquid crystal (LC) pixel, and a light emitting diode (LED) pixel.
摘要:
A two-transistor tri-state inverter is provided, made from a NMOS dual-gate thin-film transistor (DG-TFT) having a top gate, a back gate, and source/drain regions. A PMOS DG-TFT also has a top gate, a back gate, and S/D regions, and the NMOS first S/D region is connected to a PMOS first S/D region. The NMOS top gate is connected to an input signal (Vin), the back gate is connected to a control signal (Vb), the first S/D region supplies an output signal (Vout), and a second S/D region is connected to a reference voltage. The PMOS top gate is connected to the input signal, the back gate is connected to an inverted control signal (−Vb), and a second S/D region is connected to a supply voltage having a higher voltage than the reference voltage.
摘要:
An Auxiliary Electronic Program Guide (AEPG) television system is provided with a receiver having a network interface to accept broadcast channel information, including programs with visual content and Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information describing the programs. The receiver converts selected programs into display data supplied at a display interface. A display has an input to accept the display data and a screen to present images for the selected channels. An auxiliary module converts the EPG information into a code signal representing the EPG information. A user interface (e.g., the display screen) supplies the code signal to a remote device. For example, the auxiliary module converts the EPG information into code signal enabled as a compact code image, and the display screen presents the compact code as an image. In one aspect, the compact code image is a 2D barcode.
摘要:
A method is provided for consuming oxides in a silicon (Si) nanoparticle film. The method forms a colloidal solution film of Si nanoparticles overlying a substrate. The Si nanoparticle colloidal solution film is annealed at a high temperature in the presence of titanium (Ti). In response to the annealing, Si oxide is consumed in a resultant Si nanoparticle film. In one aspect, the consuming the Si oxide in the Si nanoparticle film includes forming Ti oxide in the Si nanoparticle film. Also in response to a low temperature annealing, solvents are evaporated in the colloidal solution film of Si nanoparticles. Si and Ti oxide molecules are sintered in the Si nanoparticle film in response to the high temperature annealing.
摘要:
A four-transistor Schmitt trigger inverter is provided. The Schmitt trigger inverter is made from an n-channel MOS (NMOS) dual-gate thin-film transistor (DG-TFT) and a p-channel MOS (PMOS) DG-TFT, both DG-TFTs having a top gate, a back gate, and source/drain regions. A (conventional) NMOS TFT has a gate connected to an NMOS DG-TFT first S/D region and a PMOS DG-TFT first S/D region. The NMOS TFT also has a first S/D region connected to the NMOS DG-TFT back gate and the PMOS DG-TFT back gate. A (conventional) PMOS TFT has a gate connected to the NMOS TFT gate, and a first S/D region connected to the NMOS TFT first S/D region.