Patent ID: 7847214

Claim:
A laser crystallization apparatus for crystallizing a thin film provided on a processing substrate continuously moving by irradiating a modulated pulse laser light on a predetermined area of the thin film to melt and crystallize the thin film to form crystal grains at a predetermined position of the thin film with a high throughput, the laser crystallization apparatus comprising: a laser light source which generates pulse laser light on the basis of an input of a laser light generation indicating signal; a phase modulating element which is provided on an optical path of the laser light and which modulates the pulse laser light by diffraction to transmit the pulse laser light having a predetermined light intensity distribution; an imaging optical system which forms a transmitted image of the phase modulating element on the thin film; a substrate holding stage which mounts the processing substrate and which continuously moves the processing substrate in a predetermined direction related to pulse laser light irradiating positions and moves the processing substrate in another direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction after irradiation to all places in the predetermined direction is finished; a position measuring unit which measures in real time a predetermined position of the processing substrate or the substrate holding stage continuously moving at a constant speed in the predetermined direction; a stage position control unit which includes a servomechanism for feedback-controlling the moving speed of the substrate holding stage within a predetermined accuracy on the basis of measured positional information; a stage driving unit which includes an air bearing and a linear motor driving mechanism, and which controls a movement of the substrate holding stage with positional accuracy and reproducibility; and a signal generating unit which indicates the generation of the pulse laser light on the basis of the position of the substrate holding stage measured by the position measuring unit, wherein the crystal grains start to crystallize and grow laterally in the thin film, from a crystal growth starting position, which is a place where the intensity of the modulated pulse laser light is minimum, during cooling down after stopping the pulse laser light irradiation, thereby forming the crystal grains at the predetermined position defined by the light intensity distribution of the pulse laser light.