Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US4822752?dq=5179747
Timestamp: 2014-09-21 00:49:24
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Matched Legal Cases: ['art 3', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 11', 'art 23', 'arts 33', 'art 33', 'art 33', 'art 33', 'art 73', 'art 73']

Patent US4822752 - Process for producing single crystal semiconductor layer and semiconductor ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsDisclosed herein is a process for producing a single crystal layer of a semiconductor device, which comprises the steps of providing an oxide insulator layer separated by an opening part for seeding, on a major surface of a single crystal semiconductor substrate of the cubic system, providing a polycrystalline...http://www.google.com/patents/US4822752?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US4822752 - Process for producing single crystal semiconductor layer and semiconductor device produced by said processAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS4822752 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 07/022,717Publication dateApr 18, 1989Filing dateMar 6, 1987Priority dateMar 7, 1986Fee statusLapsedAlso published asDE3779672D1, DE3779672T2, EP0235819A2, EP0235819A3, EP0235819B1, US5371381Publication number022717, 07022717, US 4822752 A, US 4822752A, US-A-4822752, US4822752 A, US4822752AInventorsKazuyuki Sugahara, Tadashi Nishimura, Shigeru Kusunoki, Yasuo InoueOriginal AssigneeAgency Of Industrial Science And TechnologyExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (10), Non-Patent Citations (21), Referenced by (68), Classifications (32), Legal Events (6) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetProcess for producing single crystal semiconductor layer and semiconductor device produced by said processUS 4822752 AAbstract Disclosed herein is a process for producing a single crystal layer of a semiconductor device, which comprises the steps of providing an oxide insulator layer separated by an opening part for seeding, on a major surface of a single crystal semiconductor substrate of the cubic system, providing a polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor layer on the entire surface of the insulator layer inclusive of the opening part, then providing a protective layer comprising at least a reflective or anti-reflection film comprising strips of a predetermined width, in a predetermined direction relative to the opening part and at a predetermined interval, the protective layer capable of controlling the temperature distributions in the semiconductor layer at the parts corresponding to the stripes or the parts not corresponding to the stripes, thereby completing a base for producing a semiconductor device, thereafter the surface of the base is irradiated with an energy beam through the striped reflective or anti-reflection film to melt the polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor and scanning the energy beam in a predetermined direction such that the direction of the crystal of the semiconductor re-solidified and converted into a single crystal accords with a {111} plane, to produce the single crystal of the semiconductor device. Also disclosed is a semiconductor device produced by the method, which comprises a single crystal layer having a wide range of a crystal in a predetermined direction relative to the facial orientation of the major surface of the substrate, and has a three-dimensional semiconductor circuit element construction.
What is claimed is: 1. A process for producing a single crystal semiconductor layer comprising:a first step of laminating an insulator layer on a major surface of a single crystal semiconductor substrate of the cubic crystal while leaving an opening part for seeding, and building up a polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor layer on the entire surface of said insulator layer inclusive of said opening part; a second step of providing a protective layer for controlling the temperature of said polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor layer, said protective layer comprising a reflective or anti-reflection film comprising stripes of a predetermined width at a predetermined angle to said opening part and at a regular interval so as to produce a difference in temperature characteristics between parts of said polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor layer which correspond to gaps between said stripes, thereby completing a base for producing a semiconductor device, and wherein said single crystal semiconductor substrate has a (001) plane or an equivalent crystal face as a major surface, and in said second step said reflective or anti-reflection film is so provided that the longitudinal direction of said stripes of said reflective or anti-reflection film forms a predetermined angle θ1, to a <110> direction or an equivalent direction on said major surface, and wherein said angle θ1, satisfies the condition of 25� ≦θ1 ≦55%; and a third step of irradiating said polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor layer with an energy beam through said protective layer of said base to melt said semiconductor layer while scanning said energy beam in such a direction that the liquid-solid interface formed at the time of re-solidification of said melted semiconductor layer accords with at least one (111) plane, namley, {111} plane, or the plane which intersects {111} planes and a horizontal plane thereby converting said polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor into a single crystal using the single crystal of said substrate making contact with said semiconductor layer at said opening part as a seed crystal. 2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the scanning direction of said third step forms an angle θ2 to a <110> direction or an equivalent direction on said major surface, which satisfies the condition of -10� ≦θ2 ≦10�.
3. A process according to claim 1, wherein the scanning direction of said third step forms an angle θ3 to the longitudinal direction of said stripes of said reflective or anti-reflection film, which satisfies the condition of -10� ≦θ3 ≦10�.
15. A process according to claim 1, wherein said energy beam scanned for irradiation therewith in said third step is a continuously oscillated argon laser beam, and at least has a wavelength of either one or 4880 Å and 5145 Å.
However, though thought to be excellent in principle, this process has not succeeded in practice. Namely, the crystal growth of a thin silicon film layer 4 using the single crystal silicon 1S of the substrate 1 as a seed proceeded only to about 100 to 200 μm from the opening part 3, and a multiplicity of crystalline defects such as stacking faults and twins were generated, so that a favorable single crystal layer was not formed. The reason for the ill success of the above-mentioned lateral seeding process lies in that no device has been made to compensate for the laser beam power distribution, which is approximate to the Gaussian distribution, in the scanning irradiation with the laser beam to melt and re-solidify the semiconductor formed of silicon or the like. In FIGS. 2A to 2C in which the same reference symbols as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or corresponding parts, the region irradiated with the laser beam 5 shows a temperature distribution as shown in FIG. 2A, in a direction crossing the beam scanning direction (arrow X). FIG. 2B is a plan view of the condition where the region of the temperature as shown in FIG. 2A has moved on the thin silicon film layer 4, and is presented in comparison with FIG. 2C which is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1. In the figure, when the laser beam 5 is moved in the direction of hollow arrow X, a single crystal 4S in the thin silicon film layer 4 grows in the directions of the multiplicity of fine arrows. The directions of the fine arrows extend from low temperature portions at both side edges with respect to the moving direction of the laser beam 5 toward the center axis O of the scanning zone. Since the directions of crystal growth from the side edges meet each other in the manner of conforming substantially to the center axis O, the subsequent growth of the region of single crystal silicon 4S seeded at the opening part 3 and grown to be a single crystal (the hatched area in FIG. 2B) is inhibited. The length over which the region of the single crystal silicon 4S extends is 100 to 200 μm, as mentioned above.
The detailed construction of a semiconductor device 7 comprising the above-mentioned anti-reflection film 6 will now be explained. The substrate 1 consists of single crystal silicon 1S having a {001}plane--a (100) plane or an equivalent crystal plane--as a major surface, and a relatively thick insulator layer 2 constituted of silicon dioxide and having an elongate opening part 3 reaching the major surface of the substrate 1 at least at a part thereof is provided on the major surface of the substrate 1. The opening part 3 is provided in a <110> direction or an equivalent direction (hereinafter referred to simply as "<110> direction") on the major surface of the substrate 1. The thin film layer 4 constituted of polycrystalline silicon 4P is formed by a chemical vapor deposition method (hereinafter referred to as "CVD method"). The striped antireflection film 6 comprises stripe portions 6b the longitudinal direction of which is set in the <110> direction (precisely, the <110> direction), and is built up in a film thickness of 550 Å by the CVD method, in order to control the temperature distribution in the polycrystalline silicon 4P at the time of irradiation with the laser beam 5. The laser beam 5 is scanned in the direction of hollow arrow X in FIGS. 3A and 3B, namely, the <110> direction.
First, since the laser beam 5 is scanned in direction X orthogonal to the elongate opening part 3 of the insulator layer 2 (precisely, in the <110> direction with respect to the major surface), the liquid-solid interface does not accord with the shape of the (111) plane constituting the crystal growth plane. Therefore, the epitaxial growth is stopped at a distance of about 100 to 200 μm from the opening part 3, after which a crystal having other crystallographic axes would grow. Accordingly, it has been impossible to produce a single crystal semiconductor layer with high quality and wide range.
Further, in the case of the above-mentioned disaccord of the liquid-solid interface in the thin silicon film layer 4 with the shape of the (111) plane constituting the crystal growth plane, a force such as to make the (111) plane accord with the liquid-solid interface acts in the thin film layer 4. Such an irrational force on or near the crystal growth plane causes crystalline defects such as stacking faults in the semiconductor layer such as the thin silicon layer 4. As a result, as mentioned above, the epitaxial growth of the semiconductor layer would be stopped at a distance of about 100 to 200 μm, and crystals having crystallographic axes different from those of the semiconductor converted into a single crystal would grow, leading to poor quality of the semiconductor device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the process for producing a single crystal semiconductor layer and a semiconductor device produced by the process according to the present invention to provide a process by which it is possible to produce a semiconductor layer with high quality over a wide range, and to obtain a semiconductor device provided with a high-quality large-area single crystal semiconductor layer.
To attain the above objects, the process for producing a single crystal semiconductor layer according to the present invention comprises laminating an oxide insulator layer having a seeding opening part, preferably in a <110> direction or an equivalent direction, on a single crystal semiconductor substrate, building up a polycrystalline or amorphous thin semiconductor film layer on the entire part of the surface of the insulator layer inclusive of the opening part, providing a striped anti-reflection film or reflective film on the surface of the thin film layer so that the longitudinal direction of the stripes is at a predetermined angle, preferably in the range of 25� to 55�, to the <110> direction or the equivalent direction, and irradiating the thin film layer with an energy beam while scanning the energy beam in a direction different from the longitudinal direction of the stripes of the anti-reflection film or reflective film, preferably in the <110> direction or the equivalent direction, whereby the polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor of the thin film layer is partially melted and the liquid-solid interface of the semiconductor re-solidified under the scanning is moved while conforming with at least one {111} plane. Accordingly, the thus produced semiconductor device comprises a single crystal semiconductor substrate having a {100} plane as a major surface, an oxide insulator layer laminated on the major surface of the substrate and having a seeding opening part in a <110> direction or an equivalent direction, and a single crystal semiconductor layer provided by melting and re-solidifying a polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor through irradiation with an energy beam through an anti-reflection film or reflective film having stripes in a direction at an angle of 25� to 55� to the <110> direction or the equivalent direction on the insulator layer while scanning the energy beam in the <110> direction or the equivalent direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a partly enlarged cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device produced by a prior art process for producing a single crystal semiconductor layer;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Preferred embodiments of the process for producing a single crystal semiconductor layer and a semiconductor device produced by the process according to the present invention will now be explained in detail below while referring to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, there is schematically illustrated a wafer 10 for growing a semiconductor single crystal layer using the substrate 11 shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 5A is a plan view showing a part of the wafer 10, and FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional structure along line B--B of FIG. 5A. On the single crystal silicon substrate 11 is provided an insulator layer 12 having a seeding opening part 13 of about 10 μm in width, and a thin film 14 of polycrystalline silicon to be converted into a single crystal is provided on the insulator layer 12. On the silicon layer 14 is provided an anti-reflection film 16 patterned in the same manner as in FIG. 3A. In the present embodiment, however, the stripe portions 16b disposed along the scanning direction of the laser beam are made to accord with the crystal direction, <100> direction, of the substrate 11. Further, on the surface of the wafer 10 is provided a thin insulator layer 17 for protection of the surface.
FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate schematically the condition where the wafer 10 is scanned with a laser beam 15 from the left to the right (in the direction of arrow X). In the scanning of the laser beam 5, for instance, an about 15-W argon laser capable of continuous oscillation can be used, and a beam with a spot size of about 100 μm can be scanned at a velocity of about 12 cm/sec. Of the silicon layer 14 being irradiated with the laser beam 5, the region beneath the antireflection stripe portion 16b absorbs the laser energy well, so that the temperature of the region becomes higher than the temperature of other regions. As a result, a periodic temperature distribution corresponding to the period of the stripe portions 16b is developed in a direction crossing the scanning direction of the laser beam 5. Therefore, at the liquid-solid interface 18 of a molten portion 14M formed at the front of single crystal growth in the silicon layer 14, re-solidification is retarded in the region beneath the stripe portion 16b, while the solidification proceeds in the other regions, resulting in that the liquid-solid interface of the crystal growth is sawtooth-shaped as indicated by reference numeral 18 in FIG. 6A. In addition, heat in the silicon layer 14 is released in the direction of the opening part 13 and in the downward direction, so that the liquid-solid interface 18 is advanced on the lower side in the silicon layer 14 and is retarded on the upper side in the silicon layer 14, as shown in FIG. 6B.
In the perspective view of a part of the wafer 10 shown in FIG. 7, by a combination of {111} planes in the single crystal region of the silicon layer 14 tending to grow in <100> direction on the insulator layer 12 by succeeding to the crystal orientation of the substrate 11, a sawtooth-shaped boundary face as indicated by reference numeral 19 can be formed. Namely, the (111) plane and (111) plane have respective intersections with the insulator layer 12 which intersect with each other at 90�, and a tooth-shaped boundary face 19 similar to the liquid-solid interface 18 shown in FIG. 6A can be formed. In addition, the boundary face 19 is advanced in the <100> direction on the lower side in the silicon layer 14 and is retarded on the upper side, as in the case of the liquid-solid interface 18 in FIG. 6B.
FIG. 8 shows at its upper part an optical microphotograph of a single crystal growth zone of the silicon layer 14 thus obtained, and illustrates at its lower part the structure of the zone. The single crystal growth zone is obtained by using an opening part 11 of 9 μm in width, an anti-reflection film 16 constituted of a silicon nitride film of 500 nm in thickness and a surface protective film 17 constituted of a silicon nitride film of 60 Å in thickness. In the photograph of the SOI film after Secco etched to delineate crystalline defects as shown in FIG. 8, no crystallographic faults other than subgrain boundaries (sub-G. B.) parallel to the single crystal zone are observed and the crystal has grown over a length of not less than 1 mm from the opening part (seed), as illustrated in the lower diagram.
FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views, similar to FIG. 7, in the case of converting a silicon layer 24 into a single crystal by using the silicon single crystal substrate 21 shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10A corresponds to the case of growing a single crystal 24A in <110> directions, while FIG. 10B corresponds to the case of growing the single crystal in <001> directions. In FIGS. 10A and 10B, the (111) plane and the (111) plane intersect with each other at a solid angle of 109.47� and at a solid angle of 70.52�, respectively, and both planes are erected vertical in the silicon layer 24. Therefore, the boundary face 29 consisting of such a combination of {111} planes can be made to accord with the liquid-solid interface of crystal growth by setting the width of the opening part 23 of the insulator layer 22 to be as small as about 2 μm, and setting the width and interval of the stripe portions to be, for example, respectively 4 μm and 10 μm in the case of FIG. 10A, and respectively 6 μm and 10 μm in the case of FIG. 10B. With such arrangement, the difference in heat release between the upper side and the lower side in the silicon layer 24 is reduced, and the liquid-solid interface can be made to accord with the boundary face 29 consisting of the combination of {111} planes, in each of the cases of FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B. Thus, the silicon layer 24 is favorably converted into a single crystal, in the same manner as in the case of using a single crystal substrate 11 having a (001) plane as a major surface. It goes without saying that the major surface of the single crystal layer 24S in the present cast is a (110) plane, whereas that in the case of using the substrate of FIG. 4 is a (001) plane.
Now, a third embodiment of the present invention will be explained referring to FIGS. 11A to 12B. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, as a characteristic feature of the present invention, a silicon nitride film 36 as an anti-reflection film is patterned in a striped form with a film thickness of 550 Å and in a direction at an angle of 35� to the <110> direction. The width of the stripe portions 36b is, for example, about 4 μm and the interval is about 10 μm. In addition, elongate opening parts 33 are provided in <110> and <110> directions so as to surround an insulator layer 32 constituted of a silicon oxide film, in order to determine chip regions on a semiconductor wafer 30 and to ensure that the scanning direction of laser light is not limited to one direction but can be in the opposite direction. The length of the elongate opening part 33 is set to be not less than 1 mm in both directions. As to the other points, the construction is the same as a conventional one. A laser beam, for instance, an argon laser beam controlled to have a beam diameter of 100 μm is used to irradiation while scanning the beam at a velocity of 25 cm/sec substantially in a <110> direction indicated by a hollow arrow in the figure. After the first scan is over, the laser beam is shifted 40 μm in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, and irradiation with the laser beam is conducted while scanning the beam at a velocity of 25 cm/sec in the <110> direction, in the same manner as in the preceding scan.
A laser beam 35 of 100 μm in beam diameter supplied from, for example, an argon laser is scanned so that the center of the beam 35 is along a broken line ○1 in the direction of the broken-line arrow. Since the laser beam 35 generally has the so-called Gaussian distribution of temperature in which temperature is higher at a central part and lower at peripheral parts, the polycrystalline film 34P melted starts to be solidified and recrystallized starting from the peripheral part of the beam where the temperature is lower. On the other hand, since a silicon nitride film 36 as an anti-reflection film is patterned in the shape of stripes 36b on the polycrystalline silicon film 36, the temperature of the polycrystalline silicon film 34P beneath the silicon nitride film 36 is maintained to be higher than that in the regions where the silicon nitride film 36 is not provided. As a result, under both the effect of the temperature distribution of the laser beam 35 and the effect of the silicon nitride film 36 provided as the anti-reflection film, the solidification and recrystallization of the molten polycrystalline silicon 34P proceed in the direction of the arrow, in other words, from the center of the lower-temperature region where the silicon nitride film 36 is not provided toward the higher-temperature region where the silicon nitride film 36 is provided, and from the periphery of the laser beam 35 toward the center of the beam 35. In this case, since the elongate opening part 33 is provided in the region corresponding to an end part of the laser beam 35 in the right-hand region as viewed in the scanning direction of the laser beam 35 (region ○A in FIG. 12A), epixtaxial crystal growth with the single crystal silicon substrate 31 as a seed crystal takes place through the opening part 33. The epixtaxial growth proceeds continuously toward the region of the polycrystalline silicon film 34P where the silicon nitride film 36 is absent, and the polycrystalline silicon film 34P in region ○A grows entirely into a single crystal 34S having a (001) facial orientation. In this case, since the silicon nitride film 36 as the anti-reflection film is disposed in a direction at 35� to the <110> direction, namely, in <510> direction and the laser beam 35 is scanned in the <110> direction, the liquid-solid interface is parallel to the <110> direction and accords with the intersection line of (111) plane and (001) plane. Further, the crystal state is unvaried on the left side and the right side with respect to the direction of crystal growth. Accordingly, a single crystal 34S of high quality containing few crystalline defects such as stacking faults can be obtained.
On the other hand, in the left-hand region as viewed in the scanning direction of the laser beam 35 (region ○B in FIG. 12B), the solidification and recrystallization of a polycrystalline silicon film 34 is accompanied by crystallization with a seed constituted of the adjacent polycrystalline silicon film 34P in the region not yet scanned with the laser beam 35 (the upper side in FIG. 12A), so that an aggregate of crystals having various crystal faces is formed, and a grain boundary parallel to the broken line ○1 is formed at the boundary of region ○A and region ○B (namely, the broken line ○1 ).
Now, FIG. 12B will be explained. After the first scan of the laser beam 35 is over, the center of the laser beam 35 is again shifted upward on the figure by about 40 μm in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction (to position ○2 ). Then, scanning irradiation with the laser beam 35 is again conducted. In this case, the melting of the polycrystalline silicon film 34P by the scanning of the laser beam 35 along the one-dotted line ○2 in the figure reaches to region ○A . By the second scan of the laser beam 35, region ○B and region ○C in the figure are melted and recrystallized. Since region ○A has been entirely converted into a single crystal 34S by the preceding scan of the laser beam 35 and the melting region in the second scan of the laser beam 35 (the scan along one-dotted line ○2 in the figure) reaches to region ○A , the polycrystalline silicon film 34P in region ○B is brought into single crystal epitaxial growth with the single crystal 34S in region ○A as a seen crystal. On the other hand, the polycrystalline silicon 34P in region ○C is crystallized with the polycrystalline silicon film 34P on the upper side in FIG. 12B as a seed, so that an aggregate of crystals having various crystal faces is formed, and, again, a grain boundary is generated at the boundary of region ○B and region ○C (the one-dotted line ○2 in the figure). The overlap scanning, namely, such scanning that the scanning regions overlap appropriately with each other is repeated, whereby the polycrystalline silicon film 34P on a silicon oxide film 32 is entirely grown into a single crystal having the same face, (001) plane, as that of the single crystal silicon substrate 31. In this case, the distance over which the polycrystalline silicon film 34P is converted into a single crystal by one scan of the laser beam 35 is limited to half the beam diameter of the laser beam 35, i.e., 50 μm in the <110> direction (the vertical direction in the figure) and about 60 μm in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the stripe portions 36b of the silicon nitride film 36 serving as the anti-reflection film; therefore, there occurs no accumulation of strains generated due to difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the polycrystalline silicon film 34P and the substrative silicon oxide film 32 at the interface thereof, so that single crystal growth is not hindered. Accordingly, since the direction of the single crystal growth is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the stripe portions 36b and the distance of crystal growth effected by one scan of the laser beam is limited to a short distance, it is possible to prevent the growth of single crystal from being hindered by stress generated at the boundary between the polycrystalline silicon film 34P and the silicon oxide film 32, and it is therefore possible to obtain a high-quality large-area semiconductor single crystal layer in a short time.
Although the silicon nitride film 36 (550 Å thick) has been used as an anti-reflection film in the above embodiment, any film constitution that has the function of the anti-reflection film, namely, that provides the desired temperature distribution in the polycrystalline silicon film at the time of irradiation with a laser beam, may be used. For example, the same efefct can be obtained in a fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, by use of an insulator anti-reflection film of two-layer construction in which a silicon oxide film 47 of 1600 Å in thickness is built up on a polycrystalline silicon film 44 by the CVD method and a silicon nitride film 46 of 550 Å in thickness is provided on the silicon oxide film 47 in the pattern of stripes 46b.
Further, as in a fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, a film constitution may be employed in which a silicon oxide film 57 is built up on a polycrystalline silicon film 54 by the CVD method in a film thickness of 2000 Å and a striped polycrystalline silicon film 58 is provided on the silicon oxide film 57. In this case, since the striped polycrystalline silicon film 58 absorbs the energy of the laser beam, the temperature of the polycrystalline silicon 54 lying under the region where the stripe of the polycrystalline silicon is provided is lower than the temperature of the polycrystalline silicon film 54 under the region where the polycrystalline silicon stripe 58 is not provided.
Moreover, as in a sixth embodiment shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, a film constrituion may be used in which a silicon oxide film 67 of 2000 Å in thickness is provided on a first polycrystalline silicon film 64 by the CVD method, then a second polycrystalline silicon film 68 of 4000 Å in thickness and a silicon nitride film 66 of 550 Å in thickness are sequentially provided on the silicon oxide film 67 by the CVD method, and the silicon nitride film 66 is patterned in the shape of stripers 66b. In this case, the second polycrystalline silicon film 68 absorbs the heat of the laser beam to melt, and the hat arising from the fusion of the second polycrystalline silicon film 68 melts indirectly the first polycrystalline silicon film 64.
Further, it is not necessary that the longitudinal direction of the stripes of the anti-reflection film or reflective film be at 35� to the <110> direction or an equivalent direction: the same effect as above can also be obtained by setting the longitudinal direction of the stripes in a direction forming an angle of from 25� to 55� to the <110> direction or the equivalent direction.
In addition, the scanning direction of the laser beam may not be exactly set in the <110> direction, but may be set in a direction in the range of �10� relative to the <110> direction.
FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate a semiconductor device and a process for forming a single crystal film on an insulator film, according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIGS. 16A shows a plan layout of the semiconductor device according to the embodiment, FIG. 16B shows a cross-sectional structure along line B--B of FIG. 16A and the scanning direction of a laser beam, and FIG. 16C shows a cross-sectional structure along line C--C of FIG. 16A. In FIGS. 16A to 16C, the constitution of the semiconductor device is the same as that according to the prior art shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, except the constitution, as a characteristic feature of the present invention, that both the longitudinal direction of an elongate opening part 73 and the longitudinal direction of stripe portions 76b of a striped anti-reflection film 76 constituted of a silicon nitride film provided by the CVD method in a thickness of 550 Å are set in a direction forming an angle of 33� to the <110> direction or an equivalent direction, namley, in the <510> direction. The polycrystalline silicon layer 74 is converted into a single crystal in the manner as follows. For example, a laser beam 75 supplied from a continuous oscillation tyep argon laser and having a predetermined power density is controlled to have a beam diameter of 100 μm, and irradiation with the laser beam is carried out while scanning in the direction of hollow arrow Y in FIG. 16B, namely, the <510> direction at a velocity of 10 cm/sec. After the first scan of the laser beam 75 is over, the laser beam 75 is shifted 40 μm in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, and is again scanned in the direction of arrow Y. The mechanism of converting the polycrstalline silicon layer 74 into a single crystal will not be detailed below.
Although in the seventh embodiment described above the longitudinal direction of the stripe portions 76b of the anti-reflection film 76 is set in the <510> direction on the major surface of the single crystal silicon substrate 71, substantially the same effect can also be obtained where the longitudinal direction of the stripe portions 76b is set in, for example, <410>, <310> or <100> direction. Namely, when the longitudinal direction of the stripes of the anti-reflecdtion film is set in a direction forming an angle of from 25� to 55� to the <110> direction or an equivalent direction on the major surface of the single crystal silicon substrate 71, the distance of epitaxial crystal growth from an end part of the opening part 73 can be greatly increased.
Further, although a silicon nitride film of 550 Å in thickness is used as the anti-reflection film in the seventh embodiment described above, any film constitution that produces the desired temperature distribution in the polycrystalline silicon film to be melted may be employed. For example, the same effect as above can be obtained also by an insulator anti-reflection film of two-layer construction in which a silicon oxide film of 1600 Å in thickness is built up on the polycrystalline silicon film 74P by the CVD method and a silicon nitride film of 550 Å in thickness is provided in the pattern of stripes on the silicon oxide film. Alternatively, a polycrystalline silicon film pattened in a striped form may be provided on a silicon oxide film provided in a thickness of 2000 Å by the CVD method. In that case, since the polycrystalline silicon film provided in the striped pattern absorbs the laser light, the temperature of the polycrystalline silicon film 74P to be melted under the region where the striped polycrystalline silicon film is provided becomes lower than that in the region where the striped polycrystalline silicon film is not provided. Another film constitution may also be used in which a silicon oxide film and a film of a high melting metal, e.g., tungsten are built up on the polycrystalline silicon film to be melted, and the high melting metal is patterned in the shape of stripes. In that case, the high melting film reflects the laser light and, therefore, functions as a reflective film contrary to the anti-reflection film.
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EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJul 1, 1997FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 19970423Apr 20, 1997LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesNov 26, 1996REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedSep 24, 1992FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Apr 9, 1991CCCertificate of correctionJun 12, 1987ASAssignmentOwner name: KOZO IIZUKA DIRECTOR GENERAL, AGENCY OF INDUSTRIALFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:SUGAHARA, KAZUYUKI;NISHIMURA, TADASHI;KUSUNOKI, SHIGERU;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:004723/0786Effective date: 19870225RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google