Patent ID: 7097709

Claim:
A laser annealing apparatus for crystallizing a semiconductor film with a plurality of linear laser beams, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of laser oscillators arranged side-by-side and spaced apart from each other for producing respective laser beams; a stage for supporting and moving a substrate having a generally planar surface in a movement plane generally parallel to the planar surface; and a plurality of linear beam forming members for forming corresponding laser beams radiated from respective laser oscillators into laser beams linearly incident on the planar surface of a substrate mounted on the stage, wherein the plurality of laser oscillators and corresponding linear beam forming members are arranged so that optical axes of the laser beams are substantially parallel and co-planar in a first plane generally parallel to the movement plane and in a second plane generally perpendicular to the movement plane, the laser beams are arranged side-by-side along a straight line on the planar surface, and the stage is positioned relative to the linear beam forming members so that each respective closest pair of laser beams, where incident on the planar surface, are spaced apart from each other.