JP5286482B2 - Semiconductor manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a flat display such as a liquid crystal or an organic EL by performing various treatments and modifications of an object by irradiation with a laser beam, and in particular, amorphous silicon formed on an insulating substrate. The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus suitable for a flat display manufacturing system in which a silicon film is modified by irradiating (noncrystalline) or polysilicon (polycrystalline) with a laser beam.

  A recent display device uses a liquid crystal element as a display element, and the liquid crystal element (pixel element) and a driver circuit of the liquid crystal element are constituted by a thin film transistor (TFT). Yes. This TFT requires a process of modifying amorphous silicon formed on a glass substrate into polysilicon in the manufacturing process. In the present specification, the term “modification” is not limited to changing amorphous silicon to polysilicon, but means changing material properties of a certain substance.

  In this modification step, the silicon film is modified by laser irradiation. As shown in FIG. 10, an underlayer for preventing impurities from entering the insulating substrate 72 on the insulating substrate 72 made of quartz glass or non-alkali glass. A step of forming a coat film (SiO 2) 73, a step of forming an amorphous silicon film surface 74 on the undercoat film 73, and a high-power laser as a light source, and irradiating the amorphous silicon film surface 74 with a linear laser beam 75 A step of modifying the polysilicon 74B by scanning in the short direction 74A of the linear laser beam 75, a step of cutting out the polysilicon only at a position constituting the TFT, and a gate oxide film (SiO 2) on the step. ) And attaching the gate electrode to the top, and implanting predetermined impurity ions into the oxide film (SiO 2) Forming an in, comprising the step of making a TFT covered the entire vertical aluminum electrode to the source / drain with a protective film. SiN or SiON may be sandwiched between the insulating substrate 72 and the undercoat film 73.

The silicon film modification step by laser irradiation is generally excimer laser annealing using an excimer laser. The silicon film is irradiated with a XeCl excimer laser having a wavelength of 307 nm with a high light absorption rate and a pulse width of several tens of nS. A polysilicon film is formed by injecting a relatively low energy of 160 mJ / cm ² and heating the silicon film to the melting point all at once. The excimer laser has a large output of several hundred watts, can form a large linear laser spot with a length of one side or more of a rectangular mother glass, and the entire silicon film formed on the mother glass is efficiently integrated. It has the feature that it can be well modified. In this silicon modification by excimer laser, the crystal grain size of polysilicon that strongly affects the TFT performance is as small as 100 nm to 500 nm, and the field effect mobility, which is an indicator of TFT performance, remains at about 150 cm ² / V · S. be able to.

In recent years, in addition to image elements and driver circuits on flat displays, system-on-glass has been proposed and partially realized, which is equipped with high-performance circuits such as control circuits, interface circuits, and arithmetic circuits. The TFT forming the high-function circuit is required to have high performance, and high-quality (large crystal grain) polysilicon modification is essential. The following Patent Document 1 is cited as a document describing a technique relating to this high-quality polysilicon modification, and a laser beam irradiated onto a silicon film while continuously emitting light (CW) using a solid-state laser for semiconductor excitation as a light source. Can be used to form a high-quality amorphous silicon film with large crystal grains that are elongated in the scanning direction, and amorphous silicon can be linear (ribbon-shaped) or island-shaped (island-shaped) in advance where high-performance TFTs are required. It is described that a field effect mobility of 300 cm ² / V · s or more can be obtained by patterning to form a high-performance TFT.

  In the excimer laser annealing and solid laser annealing described above, it is desirable that the power density of the laser spot formed by irradiation on the silicon film surface is relatively large and the spatial laser intensity distribution is uniform. The reason for this is that, in the reforming process including the crystal of the silicon film, the energy injection required for reforming within a short time (several tens to several tens of μs) before heat is transferred to the laminated film adjacent to the silicon film. This is because the spatial intensity unevenness of the laser intensity distribution directly affects the modified spots and avoids this.

  As a method for shaping the intensity distribution of excimer laser light, a technique described in Patent Document 2 below has been proposed. The beam homogenizer (beam homogenizer: an optical module for uniformizing the profile of the laser beam on the irradiation surface) described in Patent Document 2 is a lens composed of a cylindrical lens, a fly-eye lens, etc. after the excimer laser emission. A group is arranged, and a desired spot shape and laser intensity distribution are finally obtained on the silicon film surface.

Further, as a document describing a technique in which laser beams emitted from a plurality of low-power solid-state lasers are integrated into one place by an optical fiber, and the integrated laser beam is irradiated to a silicon film through an optical waveguide portion, Patent Document 3 below is described. In this Patent Document 3, laser light emitted from a plurality of laser light emitting elements is integrated using an optical fiber body, and the integrated laser light is branched into a plurality of branch paths using an optical waveguide portion. And then irradiating.
JP 2003-86505 A JP-A-9-129573 JP 2007-88050 A

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above has a beam homogenizer composed of a large number of optical components such as a cylindrical lens, a fly-eye lens, a beam expander, and a slit, and is extremely complicated including the arrangement of each optical component. There is a problem that it is. In addition, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3 irradiates a silicon film with a plurality of laser beams emitted and diffused from the emission surface of the optical waveguide portion. The laser spot shape, laser intensity distribution, The laser power density control is not particularly disclosed, and there is a problem that it is difficult to suitably control the laser spot shape / laser power density control for the object. Further, Patent Document 3 does not particularly disclose a means for monitoring / maintaining the laser spot shape formed on the silicon film.

The present invention has been made in view of the problem according to the prior art described above, the laser spot having a relatively high density laser power density, the top flat laser intensity distribution and Les Zasupotto of a predetermined size onto the object plane An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that realizes the above with a relatively simplified configuration and arrangement, and that modifies the object surface with the laser spot.

The present invention includes a laser light source that emits laser light, a control unit that controls laser power of the laser light source, a core part that transmits the laser light, and an optical waveguide part that includes a cladding part that covers the core part, A lens for forming laser light emitted from the emission end face of the optical waveguide portion into a laser spot having a predetermined shape, and the optical waveguide portion emits laser light from the incident end face due to a difference in refractive index between the core portion and the clad portion. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that modifies the surface of the object by irradiating the object with a laser spot formed by the lens, wherein the optical waveguide portion has a short direction width of 1 μm to 20 μm and a long length A laser spot that has an elliptical core portion with a direction width of 1 mm to 60 mm at the emission end surface, and the control unit emits the laser power of the laser light source from the emission end surface of the core portion. The first characteristic is that the power density of the switch is set to a value that is 0.1 mW / μm ² or more.

According to the present invention, in the prior SL semiconductors manufacturing apparatus, when the intensity distribution maximum of the laser spot emitted from the emitting end face of the core portion is P, and the minimum value of said intensity distribution and V, (P-V) / The second feature is that the PV ratio calculated at PX100% is 20% or less.

According to the present invention, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having any one of the above characteristics, a variable aperture for narrowing a width of the laser beam emitted from the emission end face is provided between the emission end face of the optical waveguide portion and the lens. Three features.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a laser light source that emits laser light, a control unit that controls the laser power of the laser light source, a plurality of core parts that transmit the laser light, and a clad part that covers the core part. And a lens that forms laser light emitted from the emission end face of the optical waveguide part into a laser spot having a predetermined shape, and a focus control part that performs focus control of the laser spot, and the refraction of the core part and the clad part A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for modifying a surface of an object by guiding laser light from an incident end face to an exit end face due to a difference in rate, and irradiating the object while performing focus control on a laser spot formed by the lens, The optical waveguide portion includes a rectangular main core portion having a side length of 1 μm to 20 μm and a side length orthogonal to the side of 1 mm to 60 mm; A laser spot that has a plurality of sub-core portions of an emission end face that emits focus control laser light disposed around the emission end face, and the control portion emits laser power of a laser light source from the main core portion. power density is set to a value that is a 0.1 mW / [mu] m ² or more, the focus control unit, the fourth characteristic in that performs focus control based on the reflected light of the laser light emitted from the sub-core portion To do.

The present invention also provides a laser light source that emits laser light, a control unit that controls the laser power of the laser light source, a plurality of core parts that transmit the laser light, and a cladding part that covers the core part. And a lens that forms a laser spot of a predetermined shape with laser light emitted from the emission end face of the optical waveguide part, and a focus control part that performs focus control of the laser spot, and the refraction of the core part and the clad part A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for modifying a surface of an object by guiding laser light from an incident end face to an exit end face due to a difference in rate, and irradiating the object while performing focus control on a laser spot formed by the lens, The optical waveguide portion has an oblong main core portion having a short side width of 1 μm to 20 μm and a long side width of 1 mm to 60 mm, and around the main core portion. A plurality of sub-core portions on the emission end face that emit the arranged focus control laser light, and the control section supplies the laser power of the laser light source to the power of the laser spot emitted from the main core section. A fifth feature is that the density is set to a value of 0.1 mW / μm ² or more, and the focus control unit performs focus control based on the reflected light of the laser beam emitted from the sub-core unit.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the fourth or fifth feature, when the intensity distribution maximum value of the laser spot emitted from the emission end face of the core portion is P and the minimum value of the intensity distribution is V, The sixth feature is that the PV ratio calculated by (P−V) / PX100% is 20% or less.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, the present invention provides a variable aperture for narrowing the width of the laser beam emitted from the emission end face between the emission end face of the optical waveguide portion and the lens. The seventh feature is that it is provided.

According to the present invention, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of the fifth to eighth features, the reflected laser spot of the sub-core unit projected by the focus control unit by the reflected light of the laser beam emitted from the sub-core unit. The eighth feature is that the focus control is performed so that is a predetermined size.

A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention propagates a laser beam emitted from a laser light source using an optical waveguide portion comprising a core portion and a cladding portion covering the core portion, the core portion having a predetermined size, and a laser light source. by controlling the laser power can be irradiated with a simple structure entanglement Zasupotto be a predetermined size and high density laser power density to be the object plane onto the surface of the object. Furthermore, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention can perform focus control with a simple structure by providing a sub-core portion that transmits laser light for focus control of a laser spot in the optical waveguide portion.

  Hereinafter, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an emission end face of an optical waveguide portion according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an emission end face of the optical waveguide portion according to the embodiment. 4 is a diagram for explaining the laser intensity distribution output from FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using a composite optical waveguide portion according to another embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an emission end face of the composite optical waveguide portion according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a relationship, FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a system-on-glass display, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a general structure on a substrate and modification of a silicon film by laser irradiation.

  Note that the coordinates X, Y, and Z of the drawings used in the drawings attached to the present specification are all common, and the laser spot is formed in a desired spot shape by using a lens group of laser beams from a plurality of laser light emitting elements. For example, it is formed in the shape of a rectangular ellipse extending in the X direction, and the uniformity of the spatial laser intensity distribution of this laser spot is called the PV ratio, and the maximum value of the laser intensity distribution is shown in FIG. Is defined as P, and the minimum value of the laser intensity distribution is defined as V, PV rate = (P−V) / PX100%.

<First Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 1, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention receives a plurality of laser light sources (not shown) that emit laser light and a plurality of laser lights emitted from the plurality of laser light sources. The emitted optical waveguide portion 1, the variable apertures 6 and 7 that move in the directions of arrows 8 and 9 to narrow the width of the laser light emitted from the optical waveguide portion 1, and the laser that has passed through the variable apertures 6 and 7 The collimator lens 2 is made to be parallel light by entering light, and the objective lens 3 is used to narrow down the parallel laser light emitted from the collimator lens 2 for focusing.

  The optical waveguide part 1 is composed of a core part 10 and a clad part 11 having different refractive indexes, and the core part 10 is transmitted through the core part 10 due to a difference in refractive index from the clad part 11 and clad. It is totally reflected at the boundary surface with the part 11, confining the laser beam and guiding it in a predetermined propagation direction. The optical waveguide portion 1 also has a function of smoothing the spatial intensity distribution of the laser beam on the surface orthogonal to the optical axis direction 14.

  The detailed structure of the optical waveguide portion 1 includes a rectangular frame cylindrical cladding portion 17 indicated by a hatched area, as shown in FIG. 2 when the emission end face 15 of the optical waveguide portion 1 is viewed from the optical axis direction 14 of FIG. The core portion 16 and the core portion 16 are arranged so as to transmit a laser beam due to a difference in refractive index, and are formed in an elongated rectangular shape having a length L / width D. This direction is coincident with the X direction in FIG.

  Next, the laser beam path by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. In this apparatus, laser light 13 emitted from a laser light source is incident on the core portion 10 of the optical waveguide portion 1, whereby the laser light 13 incident on the optical waveguide portion 1 is totally reflected and absorbed at the boundary with the cladding portion 11. The spatial laser intensity distribution in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis direction 14 is smoothed through a path that passes through and passes through the core portion 10 without loss, and is emitted from the emission end face 15. The emitted laser light is variable. Apertures 6 and 7 narrow down to a predetermined width, collimating lens 2 collimates this laser beam, and objective lens 3 focuses laser spot 5 of a predetermined size on the surface of object 4 with a predetermined magnification ratio. An image is formed so that alignment is performed.

  The laser beam 13 incident on the core portion 10 of the optical waveguide portion 1 may be incident on the aperture core portion 10 by a lens (not shown), and the laser beam installed at a location away from the laser light source is transmitted using an optical fiber. May be incident on the core portion 10. Further, there may be a plurality of laser light sources, and it is sufficient to install as many laser light sources as necessary. Further, the optical fibers may be linearly arranged so that the core portion of the optical fiber is directly connected to the core portion 10 of the optical waveguide portion 1, and the laser light emitted from the core portion of the optical fiber may be directly incident on the core portion 10 of the optical waveguide portion 1. .

  Further, the length of the optical waveguide portion 1 in the optical axis direction 14 may be determined so that the PV ratio is 20% or less at the emission end face 15 of the optical waveguide portion 1. The laser beam that has exited the exit end face 15 of the optical waveguide section 1 is controlled in the X direction by the variable apertures 6 and 7.

  FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the laser intensity distribution output from the emission end face 15 of the optical waveguide section 1. As is apparent from this figure, both ends A and B of the laser intensity distribution 18 with the horizontal axis as X correspond to the positions A and B in FIG. 2, and both ends of the laser spot rise steeply and are somewhat uneven. There will be a top flat shape.

  As described above, the size of the laser spot 5 formed on the object surface 4 by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the size (length LX width D) of the emission end face 15 of the optical waveguide portion 1 as the objective lens. The spatial intensity distribution of the laser spot 5 formed on the object surface 4 matches the laser intensity distribution 18 output from the emission end face 15 of the optical waveguide section 1. I understand.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment, in order to grow an object, for example, amorphous silicon having a thickness of about 50 nm on polysilicon, the laser spot 5 may be relatively scanned in the Y direction. At 100 mm / s or more, the width of the laser spot 5 in the scanning direction is preferably 20 μm or less, and the laser power density is preferably 0.1 mW / μm ² or more. The laser wavelength for modifying the object of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus under these conditions is preferably, for example, 370 nm to 480 nm at which absorption by amorphous silicon can be obtained. To obtain uniform polysilicon, the longitudinal direction of the laser spot 5 (X Direction) is preferably 20% or less. This is because when the PV ratio is 20% or more, unevenness in crystal size, local aggregation, and sublimation are likely to occur.

In the present apparatus, when the magnification of the objective lens 3 is 1, the short core width D of the optical waveguide portion 1 may be 20 μm or less, and the long core width L is preferably 1 mm or more. Further, the laser power density at the emission end face 15 of the optical waveguide portion 1 may be 0.1 mW / μm ² or more. Furthermore, the PV ratio in the laser intensity distribution on the emission end face 15 of the optical waveguide portion 1 may be 20% or less. If the magnification of the objective lens is increased, the laser spot condition on the object surface can be easily satisfied.

  In the above embodiment, the collimator lens 2 and the objective lens 3 have been described as examples in which the exit end face 15 of the optical waveguide unit 1 is similarly reduced and condensed and projected onto the object. However, the present invention is limited to this. Even if a lens in which the aspect ratio of the output end face of the optical waveguide portion is set to a predetermined magnification is used, a laser spot 5 having an arbitrary aspect ratio on the surface of the object 4 can be obtained by using such a lens. It can also be formed. For example, the optical waveguide portion according to the present invention may have a side length of 1 μm to 20 μm and a side length orthogonal to the side of 1 mm to 60 mm.

Second Embodiment
Next, a configuration of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using a composite optical waveguide portion according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment is emitted from a laser light source (not shown) similar to that of the above embodiment, the composite optical waveguide portion 19, the collimating lens 23, and the composite optical waveguide portion 19, which are features of this embodiment. A beam splitter 24 that transmits laser light and reflects laser light reflected from the object 37 in a right angle direction, an objective lens 25, a condenser lens 28, and the laser light reflected by the beam splitter are received. A focus detector 29 that converts the signal into an electrical signal, and arithmetic elements 30 to 32 that output focus error signals 33A to 33C based on the electrical signal output from the focus detector 29.

  The composite optical waveguide portion 19 includes a common clad portion 38 (hatched portion) having a rectangular cross section and the clad portion as shown in FIG. 5 when the emission end face 22 of the composite optical waveguide portion 19 of FIG. 4 is viewed from the optical axis 36A. A plurality of core portions that reflect the laser beam due to the difference in refractive index from the clad portion 38 are disposed inside 38. The core portion includes a central rectangular core portion 39 (corresponding to a main core portion) and three small core portions 41A to 41F (corresponding to sub-core portions) symmetrically around the rectangular core portion 39. ing. The clad part and the seven core parts are formed in parallel to the direction of the optical axis 36A, and the laser light incident surface has the same size and shape. With such a structure, the composite optical waveguide portion 19 according to the present embodiment totally reflects the laser light incident on the core portion at the boundary with the cladding portion, transmits the laser light without absorption loss, and transmits the laser light through each core portion. The light passes through each core without mutual interference. The exit end face of each core is perpendicular to the optical axis 36A, and the exit end face of each core is aligned with the same plane with high precision.

  In particular, the apparatus of the present embodiment uses laser light that passes through the core 39 as laser light for modifying the object 37, and laser light that passes through the cores 41A to 41F detects a size of the laser spot 27. Use as light.

  Next, the laser beam path by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. In this apparatus, laser beams 34 to 36 emitted from a plurality of laser light sources are made incident on a plurality of core portions 39 and 41A to 41F of the optical waveguide portion 19, whereby the laser beams 34 to 36 on which the optical waveguide portion 1 is incident are obtained. The spatial laser intensity distribution in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis direction 35A is smoothed and emitted from the emission end face 22 without absorption loss in the plurality of core portions 39, 41A to 41F, and this laser light is emitted from the collimating lens. 23 and the beam splitter 24, enter the objective lens 25, and the laser beam focused more strongly than the objective lens 25 is a laser spot of a predetermined size on the target surface 26 of the target object 37 as a pattern of the emission end face 22. 27 is imaged to perform focusing.

  Next, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus reflects the reflected light of the laser spot 27 imaged on the target surface 26 of the target object 37 by the beam splitter 24 at a right angle, and the focus detector 29 passes this reflected light through the lens 28. By receiving light, the focus detector 29 generates focus error signals 33A to 33F corresponding to the respective laser spots, and performs feedback control so that the focus error signals 33A to 33F become zero, whereby the object 37 The laser beam is controlled to the most focused state (focused point) on the surface 36.

  The composite optical waveguide unit 19 configured in this way uses the characteristic that the laser spot size is larger when the laser spot 27 is out of focus on the surface 36 of the object 37 than when it is focused, Changes are detected at the level of the focus error signal. That is, the objective lens 25 is moved and controlled in the optical axis direction (Z direction) by using one or more focus error signals based on the reflected light of the laser light passing through the six core portions 41A to 41F. Auto focus control is possible, and by performing this auto focus control, it is possible to maintain a stable spot size against fluctuations in the object (Z direction) due to disturbance. The core portions 41A to 41F used for autofocus control are preferably 41B or 41E located in the center portion in the longitudinal direction of the core 39 of the waveguide through which the laser for modification is passed.

  FIG. 6 is a relationship diagram between the voltage of the focus error signal and the inclination of the object surface. As apparent from FIG. 6, the object surface 26 is not in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis 36 </ b> A, and particularly the object surface 26 is inclined in the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the laser spot 27. The focus error signals 43A to 43C generated by the laser beams emitted from the core parts 41A to 41C are zero in the focus error signal (voltage) 43B by the core part 41B in the middle part of FIG. The focus error signal (voltage) 43A by 41A becomes negative, and the focus error signal (voltage) 43C by the core part 41C in the lower part of FIG. 6 becomes positive. Thus, the focal positions 44A, 44B and 44C of the laser spots are Z-axis. It is detected in a state of being relatively shifted.

  As described in FIG. 3, the laser spot for modifying the object has a shape elongated in the X direction (corresponding to the shape of the common clad portion 38), and the laser spot is detected by detecting a focus shift at both ends of the laser spot. It is possible to detect a change in the width in the spot short direction (Y direction). In this example, the focus error signals 43A to 43C generated by the laser beams emitted from the core portions 41A to 41C are shown. However, the same focus can be obtained using the core portions 41D to 41F. An error signal can be obtained. Further, by detecting the focus error signals of both pairs in the Y direction ([41A, 41B, 41C] and [41D, 41E, 41F]), it is also possible to detect the inclination of the object in the Y direction.

  In general, the modification of the object is performed by scanning the laser spot formed on the object surface in the Y direction, and in order to perform stable and uniform modification, the laser spot formed on the object surface is changed. It is desirable to use a rectangular shape, and the laser spot width in the scanning direction is constant. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment can reliably perform tilt correction by performing adjustment while detecting the focus signals at both ends of the laser spot in the initial tilt adjusting step of the object. For example, the tilt correction can be performed during the initial adjustment by adjusting the tilt so that the in-focus line 45 (dotted line) shown in FIG.

Furthermore, the apparatus of the present embodiment can detect and correct defocus during the reforming operation in real time by monitoring the focus error signals (for example, 43A and 43C) at both ends of the laser spot during the reforming operation.
Furthermore, the apparatus of this embodiment can also stabilize the focus control during the reforming operation. This will be specifically described. In general, the reflectance of the object changes before and after the modification, and this reflectance fluctuation deteriorates the stability of the focus control. In order to avoid this, it is determined in advance whether the reflected light before modification or the reflectance after modification is selected as the autofocus signal, and scanning is performed according to the scanning direction of the modified laser spot 27. By switching between the preceding focus spot (for example, 41A, 41B, 41C) or the succeeding focus spot (for example, 41D, 41E, 41F) of the modified laser spot 27, a stable return light amount can be obtained at all times. A focus signal is obtained. As a result, it is possible to stabilize the autofocus control. Also, a similar focus error signal can be generated at the modified laser spot and can be used for autofocus control. However, the focus error signal generated from the modified laser spot being modified is easily disturbed, and another laser is used as described above. It is preferable to perform autofocus control using a focus error signal generated at a spot.

  In the above-described embodiment, the size of the laser spot formed on the surface of the six target objects is detected around the core portion of the optical waveguide section through which the laser beam is transmitted for the purpose of modifying the target object. Although the example which arrange | positions the core part which lets the laser beam for doing this was demonstrated, it is not restricted to this, Any number may be sufficient and what is necessary is just to determine a quantity and arrangement position as needed. In addition, the present apparatus is not limited to passing laser light of the same wavelength through all six core portions, and it is only necessary to pass laser light through only the core portion at a required position without passing laser through all six core portions. Different laser wavelengths may be used. Furthermore, the shape of the six core parts is not limited to a rectangle, and may be, for example, a circle or an ellipse. In this case, it is preferable that the main core portion of the optical waveguide portion has an elliptical shape with a width in the short direction of 1 μm to 20 μm and a width in the longitudinal direction of 1 mm to 60 mm.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the core part size and the core position are the same on the incident end face and the outgoing end face has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be different. For example, the core size on the incident end face side may be large and the interval between the cores may be wide, and any desired core size and core interval may be used on the exit end face.

[Application example]
Next, a method for modifying amorphous silicon formed on the glass substrate of the liquid crystal display using the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment into polysilicon will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this reforming method, first, an insulating substrate 46 on which a silicon film is formed is mounted on an XY stage 47 that can be positioned and moved to an arbitrary position in the X and Y directions at an arbitrary speed. The laser beam is irradiated using the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 48 of any of the embodiments, and the XY stage 47 is controlled so that the linear laser spot 50 scans at a predetermined scanning speed in the short direction of the linear laser spot 50. However, the silicon film of the insulating substrate 46 can be modified by emitting the linear laser spot 50 on the silicon film surface.

  In this example, the spot 50 is scanned in the direction of the arrow 51 by moving on the insulating substrate 46 side on which the silicon film is formed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 48 side is scanned in the X direction and Y direction. The spot 50 may be scanned relatively by moving in the direction. In this case, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 48 of any one of FIGS. 1 to 5, the laser light source is independently fixedly installed at a remote location, and the laser light from the laser light source is used as the core of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using an optical fiber. It is also possible to transmit only the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and this can be easily realized because the optical fiber is generally flexible. In the present invention, the spot 50 may be scanned relatively by moving both the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (laser irradiation apparatus) 48 and the insulating substrate 46 on which the silicon film is formed.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the laser scanning positions on the liquid crystal display 53 and the mother glass 52. FIG. 8A shows the entire configuration of the display 53, and FIG. 8B shows the mother glass. It is assumed that a plurality of displays 53 are formed on the mother glass 52. The display 53 targeted by the present embodiment includes a large number of pixel units 53A for displaying an image on one display 53, an X driver circuit 55 that drives (liquid crystal) pixels in the X direction, and a (liquid crystal) in the Y direction. ) It is composed of a Y driver circuit 56 for driving a pixel, and the X driver circuit 55 and the Y driver circuit 56 need to be composed of high performance TFTs in the liquid crystal display device as described above. Is required.

  The laser irradiation apparatus and the laser irradiation method according to the present embodiment perform silicon modification of the X driver circuit 55 and the Y driver circuit 56. First, the linear laser spots 57 and 57 are changed to the X driver circuit 55 and the Y driver circuit 55, respectively. After adjusting to the position where the driver circuit 56 is formed, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is scanned in the directions of arrows 59 and 60 while irradiating a laser spot, thereby operating the driver circuit to be modified. Note that one driver circuit forming unit in the present embodiment may be scanned several times as necessary. It is preferable to perform the silicon modification process by scanning the linear laser spot in the directions of arrows 62 to 65 on the mother glass 52 before cutting out the display 53.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a system-on-glass display. In this system-on-glass display, in addition to the X driver circuit 67 and the Y driver circuit 68, a high function integrated circuit such as a control circuit 69, an interface circuit 70, a memory circuit (not shown), and an arithmetic circuit 71 are provided. It is formed by the same configuration and method as in FIG. Naturally, high-quality polysilicon is required for high-function circuits, and high-quality polysilicon can be formed by using a method similar to the silicon modification method for the X driver circuit and Y driver circuit described in FIG. .

  In the above-described embodiment, quartz glass or non-alkali glass is exemplified as the insulating substrate. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plastic substrate or a bendable plastic sheet may be used. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the liquid crystal display was used as a modification | reformation target object, it is not restricted to this, It can apply also to an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display.

  As described above, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a rectangular laser spot of a predetermined size, a relatively high density laser power density, and a top flat laser intensity distribution are relatively simplified on the surface of an object. The object surface can be uniformly modified by the laser spot.

  Furthermore, this embodiment can scan the linear laser spot in a desired position on the mother glass, a desired scanning speed, and a desired direction with a desired laser output, and a high-quality silicon film is relatively inexpensive. Can be obtained.

The block diagram of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the output end surface of the optical waveguide part by this embodiment. The figure for demonstrating laser intensity distribution output from the output end surface of an optical waveguide part. The block diagram of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus by other embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the output end surface of the composite optical waveguide part by other embodiment. The relationship figure of a focus error signal and a to-be-targeted object surface inclination. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the relationship between a display and a laser scanning position. The figure for demonstrating a system on glass display. The figure which shows the modification | reformation of the silicon film by the general structure on a board | substrate, and laser irradiation.

Explanation of symbols

1: optical waveguide part, 2: collimating lens, 3: objective lens, 4: object surface, 5: laser spot, 6: variable aperture, 10: core part, 11: clad part, 12: object, 13 : Laser beam, 14: optical axis direction, 15: laser beam emitting end face, 16: core portion, 17: clad portion, 18: laser intensity distribution, 19: composite optical waveguide portion, 20: core portion, 21: clad portion, 22: emitting end face, 23: collimating lens, 24: beam splitter, 25: objective lens, 26: object surface, 27: laser spot, 28: condenser lens, 29: focus detector, 30: arithmetic element, 33A- 33F: Focus error signal, 34: Incident, 36: On the surface, 36A: Optical axis, 37: Object, 38: Common clad part, 39: Waveguide, 41A to C: Core, 43A: F Focus error signal, 44A: In-focus position, 45: In-focus line, 46: Parallel line, 46: Insulating substrate, 47: Stage, 48: Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, 50: Linear laser spot, 50: Spot, 52: Mother Glass, 53: Display, 53A: Pixel part, 55: Driver circuit, 56: Driver circuit, 57: Linear laser spot, 59: Scan, 62: Scan, 67: Driver circuit, 68: Driver circuit, 69: Control circuit , 70: interface circuit, 71: arithmetic circuit, 72: insulating substrate, 73: undercoat film, 74: amorphous silicon film surface, 74B: polysilicon, 75: linear laser beam.

Claims (8)

A laser light source that emits laser light; a control unit that controls the laser power of the laser light source; an optical waveguide unit that includes a core unit that transmits the laser beam and a cladding unit that covers the core unit; A lens for forming laser light emitted from the emission end face into a laser spot having a predetermined shape, and the optical waveguide portion guides the laser light from the incident end face to the emission end face due to a difference in refractive index between the core portion and the cladding portion, A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for modifying a surface of an object by irradiating the object with a laser spot formed by a lens,
The optical waveguide portion has a long elliptical core portion on the emission end face with a short side width of 1 μm to 20 μm and a long side width of 1 mm to 60 mm,
The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, wherein the control unit sets a laser power of a laser light source to a value at which a power density of a laser spot emitted from an emission end face of the core unit is 0.1 mW / μm ² or more. When the maximum intensity distribution value of the laser spot emitted from the emission end face of the core part is P and the minimum value of the intensity distribution is V, the PV ratio calculated by (P−V) / PX100% is 20% or less. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 . The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a variable aperture for narrowing a width of a laser beam emitted from the emission end face is provided between the emission end face of the optical waveguide portion and the lens . A laser light source that emits laser light; a control unit that controls laser power of the laser light source; an optical waveguide unit that includes a plurality of core units that transmit the laser beam; and a cladding unit that covers the core unit; A lens for forming a laser beam emitted from the emission end face of the part into a laser spot having a predetermined shape, and a focus control part for performing focus control of the laser spot, and a laser according to a difference in refractive index between the core part and the clad part A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that guides light from an incident end face to an exit end face and irradiates the subject while performing focus control on a laser spot formed by the lens,
The optical waveguide portion has a rectangular main core portion having a side length of 1 μm to 20 μm and a side length orthogonal to the side of 1 mm to 60 mm, and a focus control laser beam disposed around the main core portion. A plurality of sub-core portions of the emission end face that emits from the emission end face,
The control unit sets the laser power of the laser light source to a value at which the power density of the laser spot emitted from the main core unit is 0.1 mW / μm ² or more,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which the focus control unit performs focus control based on reflected light of laser light emitted from the sub-core unit . A laser light source that emits laser light; a control unit that controls laser power of the laser light source; an optical waveguide unit that includes a plurality of core units that transmit the laser beam; and a cladding unit that covers the core unit; A lens for forming a laser beam emitted from the emission end face of the part into a laser spot having a predetermined shape, and a focus control part for performing focus control of the laser spot, and a laser according to a difference in refractive index between the core part and the clad part A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that guides light from an incident end face to an exit end face and irradiates the subject while performing focus control on a laser spot formed by the lens,
The optical waveguide portion emits an elliptical main core portion having a short side width of 1 μm to 20 μm and a long side width of 1 mm to 60 mm, and a focus control laser beam disposed around the main core portion. And having a plurality of sub-core portions of the exit end face on the exit end face
The control unit sets the laser power of the laser light source to a value at which the power density of the laser spot emitted from the main core unit is 0.1 mW / μm ² or more,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which the focus control unit performs focus control based on reflected light of laser light emitted from the sub-core unit . When the maximum intensity distribution value of the laser spot emitted from the emission end face of the core part is P and the minimum value of the intensity distribution is V, the PV ratio calculated by (P−V) / PX100% is 20% or less. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5 . 7. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a variable aperture for narrowing a width of a laser beam emitted from the emission end face is provided between an emission end face of the optical waveguide portion and the lens . 7. The focus control unit according to claim 4, wherein the focus control unit performs focus control so that a reflected laser spot of the sub-core unit projected by reflected light of the laser beam emitted from the sub-core unit has a predetermined size. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

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